Hidden Agenda
by irishdragon12000
Summary: 3 AU diverging from after Chuck vs. the other guy. People have been asking me for a darker one so here is my attempt. Gonna be rough one
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: A season 3 AU diverging from after Chuck vs. the other guy. People have een asking me for a darker one so here is my attempt. Still don't own nor make any $ from Chuck._

Uniondale prison is a maximum-security prison located under the hot desert sand of Arizona. It is the ultimate holding area for the nations unofficial prisoners, the ones that the nation refuses to admit exist. It was one of the most secure facilities on the planet, and it was where Major John Casey was waiting in an interrogation room for the prisoner to be brought in. He was not a man usually susceptible to emotions, but this was a unique situation and he found himself conflicted. He had a personal history with this prisoner, and even though he felt the anger of betrayal, he couldn't help himself from feeling a little sympathetic as well.

"Major Casey, prisoner #1123 is here. Please stay clear of the door," came a voice over the intercom.

"Roger that," Casey said as he cleared the door.

The door opened and three burly guards in olive drab uniforms escorted the prisoner to the chair in the middle of the room.

"They won't be necessary," Casey said, as one of the guards was about to anchor the prisoner's leg shackles to the floor.

"Are you sure sir," the guard asked.

"You won't give me any trouble will you," he asked the prisoner.

The prisoner acknowledged no.

"Very well sir. We will be right outside," the guard said as they departed, leaving the room in silence.

Casey looked at the person before him an it did not resemble the person that he saw just a few days ago. He saw the pain in the face, hunched posture, and dull eyes and knew that the prisoner was broken.

"Well I am here as you requested, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"How was it," the prisoner croaked, voice thick with emotion.

"He was buried with full honors."

"I should have been there Casey," she said as the tears came.

"Yeah. You're probably right," he replied.

The room fell into silence with the exception of soft sobbing from the prisoner.

"Casey I need to ask you a question about Paris."

"What is it," Casey replied.

"Did he suffer?"

He felt the anger rise up inside of him at her question. He tried to push down his feelings, but the bitterness of the entire situation was just too much.

"What do you want to hear Walker? Why do you even care? You left him when he needed you the most," Casey fumed.

"That's not fair Casey! I left to protect him; I thought that if I stayed I wouldn't be able to save him. I thought he...he would..,"

"Die? Ironic isn't it Walker," Casey said as he stared her down.

"Casey please! I loved him," Sarah sobbed.

Casey fought down the anger that he felt at the woman across from him at the moment.

In truth he wasn't angry with her, as much as he was angry at the situation that she put herself in. She was a good agent and didn't deserve what he knew was coming to her, but she made her own bed and would now have to lie in it.

"Walker I believe in being honest with you, so I will tell you the truth. However, I would suggest that you ask yourself if you really want to know the answer, before you ask that question again."

Sarah could sense from his tone that she would not like the answer, and the remaining strength she had quickly began to dissipate. Tears seemed to erupt from her at his statement, and Casey was certain that she wouldn't be able to handle the truth, but he owed this to Chuck. Chuck deserved to have his loss felt, and maybe this way Sarah could realize just how much he meant to her.

Sarah looked at him with eyes pleading and silently shook her head, begging him to answer the question.

"Let him rest in peace Walker. It's over now, he didn't suffer."

Sarah held her head in her hands and felt the bitter sting of regret. What happened to him was her fault and she knew it, she may have not pulled the trigger, but she was responsible.

"Don't beat yourself up too bad Walker, Shaw played us all," Casey said as he could see her pain.

 _Shaw that son of a bitch!_ Sarah thought _,_ that was her biggest mistake. Chuck was killed because of her actions, if she never killed Shaw's wife then none of this would have happened.

"He didn't fool Chuck! He tried to warn me and I didn't listen. I was such a fool," Sarah said sadly.

"What's done is done Walker. You can't have it back."

"I want him back Casey!"

"I'm sorry Sarah. Chuck Bartowski is dead."

The words caused a sudden pain in her Chest as if someone had just ripped her heart out.

"Your deposition is coming up tomorrow and I have been asked to speak on your behalf," Casey said.

"By who," Sarah asked through the tears.

"Bartowski," Casey replied.

"Chuck? When did he...,"

"On the way to the hospital that night in Paris. You were unconscious, and Bartowski was fading."

Sarah slightly moaned at the mention and felt her heart ache exponentially increase.

"His only concern was for you. I told him what would most likely happen after the smoke cleared from everything and they took you into custody. He never believed the things you were accused of and asked me to speak for you at your hearing."

Sarah smiled slightly at Chuck's concern, but suddenly that made her fell his loss all the more.

"Do you believe me Casey? I didn't do what they say I did," Sarah said.

"I warned you to not ask questions that you don't want the answer to Walker. I owe Bartowski and that's why I'm speaking for you, it doesn't matter what I think."

"Please Casey it matters to me," Sarah begged.

"I really don't know Walker, but what I do know is the bullet didn't hurt him as much as when you left. We are done here," Casey said as he got up from the table and the guards came back in.

Sarah hung her was and cried as Casey exited the room, leaving her alone to face the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Still don't own nor make any $ from Chuck

Beckman was watching through the two-way mirror and was waiting for Casey when he came out.

"What do you think Major," she queried

"I don't know ma'am. I don't get the impression that she is lying, but she has been trained to deceive and she could have been trying to convince anyone who was watching."

"Yes she could have, but Major how much of it was fake?"

"What do you mean ma'am?"

"Bartowski and her, how much was real?"

There was no point in hiding the truth from Beckman anymore.

"I believed that they loved each other ma'am. I know for sure that he did, and I'm pretty damn sure she did as well."

"My gut tells me that Shaw played her ma'am, I can't think of anything that would make her betray Bartowski."

"But she did leave with Shaw," Beckman replied.

"Yes she did ma'am," Casey acknowledged.

Beckman looked through the glass at Sarah again and seemed to be weighing her options. Casey could see her nostrils flair as her anger began to manifest itself.

"If it was not Agent Walker, then we need to find out who was providing Shaw with assistance. That son of a bitch killed Chuck and all who are responsible will pay. Nobody fucks with my team," Beckman said as she glanced back at Walker, before heading back up the hallway.

After another sleepless night Sarah was led into a large room with a single chair in front of a judges bench. There was a panel of 6 people representing various branches of the military on the bench, and 2 men dressed in suits representing the intelligence community.

The chair of the panel was Admiral Ambrose Corr, a thirty-year veteran of covert operations. His large frame and 4 stars served as more then enough intimidation

to induce Sarah's stomach to flip.

"This tribunal had been conferred for the deposition of Agent Sarah Walker of the Central Intelligence Agency," Corr said.

"Agent Walker you have been advised of your rights, but I will explain again for the record. As this is not a court of law it is not governed nor bound by the laws reserved for private citizens and they do not apply in your case. The purpose o today's session is not to confer judgment, but rather to depose you in regards to your involvement with one Daniel Shaw, deceased, a man guilty of treason and of murdering Agent Charles I Bartowski."

Sarah had a stoic front, but when Corr brought up Chuck's murder she began to tear up.

"An investigation of Shaw's effects have brought to light numerous instances of your possible involvement in his dealings, and as such has warranted this deposition. It is the function o this inquiry to determine if you will be charged with treason, punishable by death, and as an accessory to murder."

Sarah stood still as Corr continued his soliloquy of charges against her and silently cried as her heart ached for her murdered Chuck.

"Do you need a tissue Agent Walker," Corr asked with a margin of concern as he saw the tears stream down her face.

"No sir. I'm ok thank you," Sarah sobbed as she cleared her throat.

"Very well. General Lassiter sir, you may proceed with your questioning," Corr said.

"Thank you sir," came the reply from Lassiter, a squat man dressed in air Force blue, with enough ribbons to open a Christmas shop.

"Agent Walker I have a few questions in regards to some of the items found in Shaw's possession."

"Yes sir."

"An account statement lists a check in the amount of $500,000.00, posted to Shaw's account 1 day before the two of you left for Paris. We traced the routing number of he check to a CIA account that was set up in your name 8 years ago. Could you explain to us what the purpose of this check was?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I have no idea. That particular account was opened for me by former director Graham when I was assigned to south amerce."

"And what was the nature of your assignment," Lassiter asked.

"It was an SY-6 mission."

"An assassination mission."

"Yes sir."

"Agent Walker it is my understanding that you and Shaw engaged in a personal relationship. Is that correct?"

Sarah felt the bile rise in her throat as she felt total disgust for her moment of weakness.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"Would you please elaborate," Lassiter asked.

Sarah went into her entire relationship with Shaw and explained about her red test, as well as Shaw's reaction to it.

"So you willingly accompanied this man to Paris and this was after you had killed his wife for your red test," came a follow up.

"Yes, but...he said he forgave me."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes sir."

"Pardon me Agent Walker, but I think it's not very plausible that a seasoned agent as yourself could make a mistake like that," Lassiter pressed.

"I was not thinking right at the time," Sarah replied heavily.

"Why is that?"

"Because I was in love with him and I didn't know what to do about it," she said as she broke down in tears.

"So you admit that your relationship with Shaw compromised you!" Lassiter boomed as he tied to tighten the noose.

"No sir."

"I don't understand, you said you engaged in a personal relationship with Shaw."

"I did sir but I didn't love him. The man I am in love with is Chuck Bartowski. I would never let anyone hurt him," Sarah said crying.

Corr rubbed his temples as he felt the tension seep into his brain, this situation was quickly getting out of hand.

"Agent Walker I don't really care who you were in love with. We are here because an enemy of the state had access to secret materials and information, then used these materials to commit treason against the United States. In addition he murdered Agent Bartowski, thus destroying the only operational intersect. Your relationship with this man gave him access to everything that we found in his possession. He was also in possession of $500,000.00 that came from your account, all of this evidence suggests payment for something. Now what I suggest is you tell us exactly what the hell happened and it better be the truth, because I assure you your life depends on it.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Don't own nor make any $ from Chuck_

After Sarah had finished her deposition, the panel called in Casey to testify.

"Major Casey could you explain to us your involvement in the events which transpired in Paris," Corr said.

Casey stood ramrod straight in front of the panel while Sarah was seated off to the side.

"Yes sir. I was with Agent Bartowski on or way to Paris for the express reason of rescuing Age t Walker."

"What made you think that she needed to be rescued?"

"Agent Bartowski never trusted Shaw, especially after learning that Shaw knew Walker killed his wife, and he believed that Shaw intended to kill Agent Walker in Paris."

"How did he come to this conclusion?"

"After learning of the mission Agent Bartowski analyzed the data from all of Shaw's previous missions. He was able to detect travel patterns, which indicated that Shaw spent the same week in Paris every year since his wife's death. When he realized that the weeks coincided, he theorized what was happening."

"I understand that you captured the ring director, and after which you assisted in the rescue of Agent Walker, is that correct?"

"Yes sir. I arrived on the bridge and saw that Agent Walker had been drugged. Shaw had given her something to effectively inhibited mobility. It was then I saw Agent Bartowski and Shaw engaged in a vicious fight," he said.

Sarah cried silently as Casey continued to paint the gruesome picture of Chuck's demise.

"Would you please describe what you saw Major."

"Yes sir. Agent Bartowski had one arm around agent Walker and was preventing her from falling off the bridge and into the river. With the other arm he was trying to fight off Shaw and shield Walker from his attacks. He was taking a substantial amount of punishment because he had been weakened from a stab wound. Shaw had previously stabbed him in the back and the blood loss severely influenced his ability to fight him off," Casey said as he suddenly became emotional and swallowed hard to keep himself from breaking.

 _That son of a bitch!_ Sarah screamed in her mind as she quietly sobbed.

"Go on Major," Corr replied.

"I got up to them as fast as I can and took Walker out of Chucks arms. Shaw then pulled a gun out and aimed it directly at us. My hands were occupied so I didn't have an opportunity to fire first, but agent Bartowski threw himself between us. Shaw fired and he took the bullet. Chuck saved our lives," Casey said as his voice cracked a little.

Sarah broke when she saw the big man struggle and felt her tears cascade down her cheeks.

"I then returned fire and hit Shaw 3 in the chest, he fell over the bridge an into the river. I then went to help Chuck and got medical up as soon as I could, but by then the damage was too severe. He was not very lucid an fell unconscious, he died on the way to the hospital never regaining consciousness."

The room was silent for a minute as everyone digested Casey's account.

"Major in regards to Shaw, we understand his body has not been recovered. Is that correct?"

"As far as I know that is correct."

"Is there anything else you would like to add Major?"

"Yes sir. I have known Agent Walker to be an outstanding Agent and with the highest character. I believe her. She would never betray Agent Bartowski and everything she ever did was for his best interests."

"Agent Walker is not a traitor and she deserves the consideration of a true patriot. The traitor has a higher pay grade," Casey said firmly as he looked at the panel.

Sarah smiled at her partner and mouthed the words thank you to him, Casey replied with

"Thank you Major Casey. This panel will recess for the evening and convene back here at 0800 hours tomorrow. Agent Walker you will be remanded to your cell for the evening. Major Casey you are free to go, but please remain available for further testimony if the need should arise," Corr said.

"Yes sir."

The panel broke up and Sarah was escorted back to her cell, while Casey and Beckman met in the outside corridor.

"Walk with me Major," she said as the entered the elevator and made their way outside.

They walked a few blocks to a nearby park and inside what looked like a gazebo. Beckman touched a button on the side of the gazebo, which activated a pulse, which blocked out, and electronic detection equipment.

"We found him Major," Beckman said.

"Shaw?"

"Yes. He is in a suburb of Philadelphia. We need to get to him ASAP and find out whom his contact is. If my suspension is correct then I don't think Sarah much time before they move to eliminate her."

"What are your orders ma'am," Casey asked.

"Get her out of their John and then hunt down that little shit and get the name," she replied.

"Understood ma'am."

Sarah returned to her cell and sat down on the rack. She had cried so much today that she was nearly dehydrated and went to the faucet to get some water. On the sink there was sitting a small envelope, upon which was written " a consideration for a patriot."

Sarah opened the envelope and found a small white pill inside, and she knew immediately what this meant. They were offering her an easy way out to spare her the indignity of being found guilty. She would be put to death if found guilty, and the way the evidence was pointing it would most likely go that way.

She reached for the one personal item that she had, it was a picture of Chuck and her, which was originally taken for the cover, but the look on their faces showed the true happiness they felt. She always noticed her smile in that picture, it was real and maybe the first real happy moment she had since she was just a regular girl and not an agent.

"I'm so sorry Chuck. I'll be with you soon. I love you," Sarah said as she kissed the picture and swallowed the pill.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Still don't own Chuck, nor make any $ from it._

Beckman and Casey were reentering the prison when all hell broke loose. There were guards running all over the place, and plenty of the Brass shouting orders and jamming the phone lines.

"Sargent! What the hell is going on?"

"Ma'am the prisoner just hung herself."

Beckman and Casey ran down to the holding area to find Sarah on a gurney with a crew attempting resuscitation.

"I got no pulse! BP dropping!"

One medic broke out the defibrillator as another started CPR.

"Clear," a medic called as he shocked her.

"Nothing. No pulse! Charging…Clear!"

They repeated the procedure and shocked her twice more, but to no avail. Sarah Walker was dead.

After 10 minutes they decided to terminate resuscitation actions.

"I call it. TOD 18:35hrs," the doctor said as he assessed the patient.

Beckman was still observing through the glass when she heard a rustling behind her.

"General Beckman. General Lassiter would like to meet I with you right now. I have orders to escort you to his office," an aid said as he came up behind her.

"Major see what you can find out," she said before she left to meet Corr.

"Yes ma'am," he said.

Beckman was taken to Lassiter's office and she could immediately see the man was not happy.

"What the hell happened Diane?"

"What do you mean? "

"Don't bullshit me! I have a dead traitor here...,"

Beckman silenced him by raising a finger to her lips, and taking out a signal jammer, which effectively jammed all surveillance for about 10 minutes.

"With all do respect sir, Agent Sarah Walker was no traitor!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Use your head Ronald for something besides wearing your hat! Shaw, the supposed golden child, was pushed down my throat since the beginning! I tried to reassign him numerous times but the Goddamn DOD or the White House always blocked me. Whoever he got his information from was not Walker, and I will be damned if I let you label her as such in my presence. I lost a damn good person today and America lost a hero," Beckman said as her face flashed hot with anger.

Lassiter was taken aback as e had never seen her this angry before. He didn't always agree with her methods and assessment of things, but he recognized the dedication and conviction she had for the safety of this country. Losing two members of her team, including the intersect, was certainly stressing her, but the fire he saw in her eyes suggested something else. It looked to him like a sense of betrayal mixed with rage. He was a good judge of character and had known her long enough to know that her ideas were worth the risk.

"Ok. What have you got," he said.

Beckman laid out what they believed was happening, and of her discovery of Shaw. She didn't have all of the players, but she had a plan that could smoke everyone out of successful. Lassiter processed all the information before he spoke.

"You think she was hit from someone inside?"

"It's very possible. We have no idea how far up this goes," she replied.

Lassiter was angry. If what she was saying was correct, and the more he thought about it the more plausible it became, then they were all about ready to get a very nasty surprise. He took a deep calming breath and then looked directly at her.

"I can give you 36 hours. If you can't find the link by then, I'm going to officially have to lay all of this on you. I'm sorry Diane, but if what you say is true it might be the only way for us to keep them in the dark while we smoke them out," Lassiter said as Beckman drew his attention to the light beeping on the signal jammer, indicating an expiring battery.

"Understood sir. What about my request? I want to send the body to her parents. She deserves at least that much."

"Normally the bodies of those who commit treason are not released to next of kin, but given the circumstances I will release her remains to you," Lassiter replied.

"Thank you sir."

The dimly lit bar was a good place to be invisible. Ordinarily filled with day drinkers and those down on their luck, it provided a very nice place to disappear to.

The man at the end of the bar was mindlessly watching the local news when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He immediately got up and made his way to the bathroom, and after finding an empty stall, opened his phone.

A text message was scrambled on the screen, so he retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket and began to decipher the message. After a few minutes he looked at the message and chuckled.

 _SW mission off... killed herself. Operational go on JC and DB._

"That dumb bitch," Shaw remarked as he folded the paper and flushed it down the toilet.

Casey signed off on Sarah's body and loaded it in a van, then cautiously drove out of prison. He kept his speed low and checked for tails, but there were none. He continued east until he came to an old airport and drove to a hanger on the far end of the field where a guard recognize him and passed him through.

Casey coasted the van inside and stopped in the southeast corner directly in front of a brick wall. He waited for a brief second before the entire van descend into the ground. The elevator carried them down 50 feet to reveal a large white room filled with multiple computer screens and people milling about. As soon as their decent ended a team of technicians surrounded the van an opened it up.

"How long has she been out," someone called to Casey.

"45 minutes."

"God that's cutting it close! Make a hole! We need to bring the heart rate up fast," another one called before the whisked Sarah away to medical.

Casey was more then slightly concerned his partner wouldn't make it. When he and Sarah arranged this earlier he planted the med techs that would try to "resuscitate" Sarah in prison, but he never thought they would try to use a defibrillator. He was unsure of how her heart would react to the stress of being shocked, especially after taking the pill.

The pill was similar to a heavy sedative, which essential paralyzed her. After taking it she rigged a noose, but made sure to fix a safety line to her upper torso made from double braided shoelaces, thus distributing the weight to her trunk and not her neck. To anyone watching on surveillance it would appear that she hung herself, when in actuality she was safely supported by her upper shoulders. The effect of the pill would more then likely convince the admiral that it was a suicide and not an escape. Corr and Lassiter were cagey veterans, so they needed to throw him off their trail.

The first men on scene were the ones that Casey planted and stuck to the script that he gave them, the wild card was the doctor. Since only a doctor can pronounce a person dead, Casey relied on his men to successfully convince the doctor that she was indeed dead. When he checked her pulse, the drug kept it so well hidden and shallow that he could not detect it.

He was outside her room pacing until one of the techs came out and told him it was ok to come back.

Sarah was talking to one of the techs that was taking her vitals, but stopped as soon as she saw Casey.

"A defibrillator Casey," she said with slight annoyance.

"Sorry I didn't plan for that. Are you ok?"

"I few minor burns, but otherwise yeah I'm fine. Thanks for getting me out o there," she replied as she gave him a smile.

"No problem. I need to update Beckman," Casey said.

"Everything went as planned ma'am," Casey said to the computer screen.

"Good Major. How is agent Walker? Any ill effects from the retrieval."

Casey looked at Sarah loading her tactical bag with an assortment of very large knives, which she seemed to hold with a sense of reverence as she sheathed them before loading them up. She then put the charm bracelet that Chuck had given her, through a chain and wore it around her neck an under her body armor.

"No ma'am," Casey replied.

"Good any questions?"

"Yes ma'am, after we procure the information from Shaw, what would you like us to do with Shaw?"

Beckman stopped for a second as she thought of a reasonable reply. _What does this man who has done so much damage really deserve_ she thought. A smile came to her face as she what needed to be done to him.

"Unleash Walker!"


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Don't own nor make any money from Chuck. Thanks for the reviews. I know that many of you can't get a read on this one yet, but it will/should/( I hope?) make sense in the end. I'm very interested in Sarah as a person, and in particular how much of a bad ass was she..I think the entire series could be viewed as the redemption of Sarah Walker….until seson 5_ _L_ _BTW are they dating in real life?_

Once fully recovered and cleared for duty, Sarah and Casey were on a private plane speeding toward the east coast. They were still unaware of all the entities that might be involve in Chuck's murder and the destruction of the intersect program, and had to remain invisible. The plane had been seized from a Mexican drug lord, by the DEA and Carina was the agent that took him down. She was able to get the plane as an official charter of the DEA as she needed to be in New York, and with 3 passengers listed on the manifest, slipping Casey and Sarah onboard would not cause any red flags. There would be no possible way that the plane could be traced back to Casey or Sarah and it offered them an added level of anonymity.

Sarah was sitting off to the side wen Carina came back from the cockpit.

"We should be on the ground in just over 3 hours. Do you guys have transport to Philly?"

Sarah didn't respond to her friend, she he attention was focused on a picture in her hand; it was the picture of Chuck and herself that she had in her prison cell.

"Sarah...Sarah...Sarah!"

"What," she asked as Carina finally got her attention.

"I asked you if you had transport to Philly?"

"Oh...I'm sorry Casey has it lined up," Sarah said.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Carina," Sarah said as she quickly put the picture away.

"Sarah you're not fine! You have been through a lot in the last few days..do you,"

"I said I'm fine Carina. I just need to focus on getting that son of a bitch," she said as she got up and headed to the back of the plane.

"Something you said," Casey smirked from the opposite chair.

"You could have helped me John," she said.

"Help you do what? Walker will be ok," Casey said.

"You really think so," Carina asked with sarcasm.

"Do you know about her history? Not the one that's in her file, but the one Graham kept locked away," she asked.

"I've heard rumors about the enforcer," Casey replied.

"More like executioner. She was so good at her job that Graham thought he would have to kill her," Carina said.

"What do you mean?"

"Sarah was like a weapon that had outlive its usefulness. Graham was going to take her out but then Larkin stole the intersect, and he needed to find out what she knew so he sent her here. It was only because of Chuck that she is still alive."

"I'm not following you," Casey replied.

"Think about your orders that night major. You were to assess the situation and then clean the targets if needed. If Chuck had not been able to save the general that night Beckman and Graham were going to have you kill them both."

Casey pondered Carina's words, and sadly was not surprised, he knew the rumors of Sarah, and even if half of them were true she might be too far-gone to ever be able to bring back.

"The only thing that brought her back was Chuck, and now that he is gone, what is she going to do," Carina said addressing the elephant in the room.

"I guess we will find out," Casey said as he asked the same question to himself.

Carina looked at her friend as Sarah sat back in a seat and took out her picture again.

"I hope your right John."

Sarah didn't feel like talking, she knew what she had to do and in this mission she wouldn't fail. She felt the tears in her eyes as she gazed back at the picture and realized just how much she had already lost. She knew what she had done in the past, and she knew that those experiences had dogged her through life and made her feel like the monster that the CIA tried to turn her into. She shuttered at the memory and fought hard to convince herself that she wasn't a monster, but every night when the demons came to visit, she thought maybe she was.

She was a spy, and spies don't fall in love, love was for suckers her father had told her, and Bryce had proven the point. The only thing she had ever experienced with love was pain and betrayal, so she chose to believe that she was that person, incapable of love and therefore free from the pain that comes with it.

That defense mechanism worked for her in the past and allowed her to leave assignments without any ties, and when she got to Burbank, she fully intended to follow that protocol, and leave the same way. The only problem was the pain would be too great, because hard as she tried to resist, she fell in love.

He wasn't a spy, he was just a normal guy and someone she thought she could never be with because she felt so damaged. He was able to see the woman inside the monster the CIA tried to transform her into, and love her for being Sarah, not Agent Walker. In one swift blow, he shattered her illusions and gave her the one gift that she never had nor realized that she needed, hope. Other men wanted her for her body, but try as they might they could never steal from her what she gave Chuck willingly the first month she knew him, her heart.

She was unable to tell him just how much he meant to her, but through unspoken words and her overprotective nature, she was sure he knew. He was the only person in the world that frightened her because if she ever lost him, she knew she would lose herself. The terrifying thing about love in its purest form, is that it never lets us go. Love does not make sense, it is irrational and dangerous, but there is nothing more powerful or honest in the universe then true love.

She fingered the charm bracelet that she put on a chain around her neck. On missions she would never wear it because she thought it would take her focus away from the objective, but now she was beginning to realize that maybe it didn't.

 _Chuck. God I love him and miss him_...she thought.

She could feel the angst that she felt before slipping away as she put the bracelet back on. The man who gave it to her was the only man that ever really loved her, and the only man that she could ever love. Shaw would pay for what he did to the man she loved, and she would die before she let him get away with it.

The hazy summer day had turned into a sweltering night as Daniel Shaw finished his shower and waited for his masseuse to arrive. It was his birthday today and he was reveling in his good fortune at the receiving the perfect gift, Sarah Walkers death.

He still needed to finish of Beckman and Casey, however they were nothing if not predictable and he would kill them in due time, but tonight was all about him.

He booked himself into one of the finest spa's, under the name Sam Carmichael, as a final insult to those who he had dispatched. The spa catered to high-end businessmen and international playboys, so when he requested that his masseuse is blonde, they dutifully obliged. Shaw had undressed and was lying down naked on the table he heard his masseuse enter the room. He was lying on his stomach with his eyes closed anticipating what was about to happen

"Your donation is on the table," he said as she entered the room.

"Yes sir," she replied as she turned her back on him to collect her payment.

He heard her open a few bottles of what sounded like massage oils, and opened his eyes just as the masseuse turned her back to him. From his position he saw very attractive blonde and as per usual in this spa when someone requested a massage, she was not wearing much because she was not expected to be dressed for long. She was wearing a tight white tank top and black yoga pants, and the view of her beautiful behind, had Shaw was licking his lips in anticipation at sampling her talents.

"I would like this to be a very special evening. I just got some very good news and it's also my birthday," he said.

"Since it is your birthday sir. Would you be interested in getting the special birthday happy ending," she asked.

"Yes I would," Shaw said arrogantly.

"Happy birthday Danny Baby," Sarah said as she turned around tranqed him.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I don't own nor make any money fom Chuck. I know it maybe confusing, but please stay with it as answers coming soon…..hopefully_

Admiral Corr had returned to Washington, and was sitting in his office, trying to wrap up a very stressful week and waiting for his visitor to arrive. Corr may have worked for politicians, but he loathed everything associated with them. His cache within the intelligence community allowed him certain dispensations when dealing with these parasites, and when they wanted to meet with him; they had to come to him, which gave him a brief respite from all the beltway bullshit. He was just about to sign off on his millionth form, when his secretary alerted him that his appointment had arrived.

"Show him in," Corr replied.

A tall man with hound dog eyes and wearing pants a good two inches short walked in as the secretary closed the door behind him.

"Hello Admiral thank you for seeing me," the man said.

"No problem. Please sit down. Now what can I do for the State Department," Corr said as the man sat down.

James Franklin was the executive assistant to the deputy Secretary of State, and seen as on the rise due to his aggressive nature yet amenable attitude, in short a true politician.

"Secretary Wilson is very interested in the events surrounding the death of Agent Sarah Walker, and would like a briefing on these circumstances and any and all major breakdowns of security which lead to her death."

Corr smiled at the young mans bating question, obviously designed to show him the power of the office behind Franklin, and their assumption of Corr's dereliction of duty for Sarah dying on his watch.

"She committed suicide James. Any other circumstances you are referring to, I'm afraid I have no knowledge of."

"Admiral with all due respect this woman killed herself inside of a secure facility under your supervision. The optics on this entire situation are very bad for you admiral. I find it hard to believe that someone could not have prevented it, or was something else going on?"

"Just what are you insinuating Mr. Franklin?"

"Maybe someone in wanted her to die Admiral."

"I think you are off base with that statement sir," Corr replied in an even tone.

"Really Admiral well Secretary Wilson's campaign...,"

"Is none of my concern. My duty is to my country sir, not to political opportunists."

Although unannounced it was well known within the beltway that Secretary Wilson was going to resign and run for the presidency in a year. He built himself up as an up as an unyielding man on diplomacy and national defense, when in reality he was little more then a failed trial lawyer. Internal polling had him winning rather handily and many assumed his ascension was a foregone conclusion. Franklin it seemed, was positioning himself to be chief of staff, Corr surmised.

"It will be your problem when he is the new president. If you expect to have a future in the next administration I suggest you change your tactics," Franklin said with contempt.

Corr held his tongue as the anger rose up inside of him. He was a veteran of these types of meetings, but something was off with this one. He had been an operative for longer then Franklin had been alive and studied the man with a clinical detachment. In order to distract your adversary from something you try to trigger an emotional response, such as anger. Franklin obviously tried that with his line of questioning, but Corr detected that he played it to fast. He must be hiding something Corr thought, and as he looked at the man closely he saw it. Franklin was sweating slightly from the forehead indicating increased body temperature, the back of his palms were damp as well. Corr hated the Washington summers and kept his office at a chilly 58 degrees F, so there should be no reason for Franklin to sweat unless he was nervous.

"You are correct Mr. Franklin. Please inform the Secretary that I will brief him as soon as it is convenient for him."

"Thank you Admiral. I think it's best for all involved if I deliver this message personal to him, so

If you will excuse me," Franklin said as he got up.

"Certainly. I will have my secretary show you out," Corr said as his secretary reappeared and led Franklin out, closing the door behind him.

"You were right Diane," Corr said as Beckman came out of his private bathroom followed by Lassiter.

"I would have been having that conversation with Franklin today even if she hadn't killed herself. Someone would have killed her," he said.

"Yes I believe you are correct Ambrose. He seemed to have a pretty well rehearsed monologue, but her suicide threw them off no doubt. He was sweating like a whore in Church," Beckman said.

"So what is our status," Corr asked.

"Trying to retrieve the name of the contact from Shaw. Once we have that then we can piece together who else is involved."

"We will have the names soon sir," Lassiter replied.

"We better, because I don't like the direction this is heading," Corr replied.

Franklin returned to his office at the state department and briefed his boss, the deputy secretary, who then scheduled a meeting with Secretary Wilson to update him. After their briefing with Secretary Wilson, Franklin went out for a late lunch, and once he was certain he was out of sight took out a burner phone and dialed a number.

Across town a grey haired man was in a meeting with a few individuals, when he felt his phone vibrate and recognized the number.

"Excuse me for a moment, but I need to take this," he said as he exited the room and walked to his private office before he picked up the phone.

"Code in."

"32487k23. Secure," Franklin said.

"Report."

"Sir Sarah Walker confirmed dead."

"Very good. What of Secretary Wilson?"

"Everything is going according to plan sir. By the time I'm finished everything will be laid at his door."

"Excellent Mr. Franklin. You are a credit to our organization. Out," the man said as he closed his phone.

Franklin slipped his phone back in his pocket and headed for lunch. He had a spring in his step and was suddenly in the mood for steak.

Across town the grey haired man was staring pensively out the window when a knock on the door sprung him back to reality.

"Yes," he said and a Capitol page opened the door.

"Excuse me Senator, but they are ready for you again," the page said.

"Right away," he said as he headed back to the meeting.

Sarah was sitting in the van looking at her picture of Chuck, while Casey removed the unconscious Shaw and prepared him for the interrogation.

"He knew from the start Casey. He knew Shaw was dirty from the beginning," she said as she kept her eyes on the picture.

"Yeah he did, but so did you Walker," Casey said as he pulled Shaw out.

Sarah thought back to that day in castle...

 _She and Chuck had been keeping their relationship a secret from Beckman and when Shaw, a complete unknown entity, was assigned to the team, she immediately became suspicious, and went into protection mode. Their plan was for Sarah to get close to Shaw and find out anything she could about him, as his CIA file was empty and there was nothing in the intersect about him either. Chuck and Sarah needed to appear "at odds" with each other so Shaw would make his move on her, and he didn't disappoint._

 _She smiled as she recalled how jealous Chuck became, when she had to flirt and get close to Shaw, and assured Chuck every night that he had nothing to worry about with more then just her words. He was the love of her life, and she would fight the devil himself to keep him safe. In terms of the physical relationship with Shaw, she managed to keep it only to a few kisses, when he wanted more she casually slipped him a tranq drug Carina gave her for just such an occasion. Her lipstick was laced with the drug and after 2 minutes he would slip into a vegetative state, upon which time Sarah would slip specially designed glasses on him, which would flash images of random pornographic images and videos. The videos were implanted in Shaw's brain and processed as memories, so he would wake up thinking they had sex, but in actuality they didn't. Sarah always wondered why Shaw never asked why she wouldn't spend the night with him, but she quickly realized he wasn't as bright as advertised._

 _It was only a few days after he joined the team when Chuck flashed on one of the watches Shaw wore, which he was able to connect back to the Ring. After that he was able to hack into the Rings database and find the file on Shaw, and through his formidable computer skills and defective reasoning was also able to generate a new file on him for Casey and Sarah. There were working on connecting the dots to Shaw's contact, when he sprung his trap. Paris was a screw up, they thought they had more time, but they still were unsure who was on their side so they kept Beckman in the dark._

 _Once Chuck built the file and they saw the gravity of people that were involved in his plan, they couldn't afford to trust anyone outside of the core team. When Beckman ordered her to Paris she had to go with him not to arouse suspicion. They were planning on taking him down later that week, but Shaw moved too fast and caught them flat-footed. Sarah once again misted up as she thought of the love of her life bleeding all over her on the bridge, his life slipping away as she begged him not to go. That smug son of a bitch who put those bullets in him was never going to get away from her. Tonight she would have her revenge, tonight Shaw was going to die._

 __"It's time Sarah," Casey softly said as he saw her still gazing at the tear stained picture.

"Ok," she said as she kissed the picture again then put it away.

"Listen Sarah if you're not up...,"

She shot him a look that silenced him in mid sentence, then walked toed their interrogation set up.

"Happy birthday Shaw," Casey muttered under his breath as Sarah steamed ahead.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I don't own nor make any $ from Chuck_

The grey haired senator was waiting in his office for a visit from his son, and gazed out his window at the Washington mall. The interesting thing about Washington is that it becomes a ghost town during the summer months as the legislative branch enjoys their vacations, even more then they enjoy their lobbyists; so the fact that the senator was in the office was a rare, but not unusual occurrence. Many of the power brokers that live in Washington view it as little more then a transient town. Most congressmen and senators, at least the idealistic ones, usually have an average of between 10 and 12 years before the frustration of governmental inaction and political games, crushes their dreams and leads them to private industry. There are however others who learn to love the game and indeed begin to thrive, and the senator was one of those people.

He was two years into his forth term, and due to his seniority, was a major player on many committees, cultivating a powerful legacy behind him. It was this legacy that he was very interested in and had designs on the White House, but at 63 years old, his dream was slowly slipping away. His public persona and image were that of a relatively nice guy and a man of the people, even though like most politicians he had more money then God. His main issue was however that he just couldn't excite the voters, and as primary season was quickly approaching, he was forced to politic behind the scenes to secure a spot on the ticket as a running mate to one of the headliners.

Secretary Wilson was the front-runner, and he targeted him specifically, offering domestic experience to the ticket, while the Wilson had foreign policy locked up. The combination was too good for Wilson to ignore, and the senator was quickly designated his "unofficial" running mate. Now that he was on the ticket, he quickly began to consolidate his power for his plan to oust Wilson.

His plan was relatively simple in that President Wilson would be faced with such a scandal during the first year of his presidency that he would be forced to resign, leaving the Vice President to take his place. He needed to create a scandal that would shake the confidence of the country in the president, and surely such a breakdown in the intelligence community would be able to cause such. While chairing various committees he was able to learn of the existence of the intersect, through his contacts, and thus his plan began to take shape. He needed an operative that could be used to destroy the intersect program and lay the blame at future President Wilson's feet, thus Agent Daniel Shaw was born.

Shaw was put together from the ground up and given special access to the intersect, for the express reason of its destruction. Unfortunately for the senator, security measures were so tight that the name of the intersect was blacked out, but he would be able to get information on his team. When he got the files, he was shocked when he knew one of the agents assigned to protection, Sarah Walker. He didn't know her well, as a matter of fact he didn't even know she was an agent, but this certainly made the job more difficult. Any experience that he ever had with Sarah was in an unofficial capacity, but her death would make his life much easier. He dug up what he could about Sarah and found an amazing coincidence that would be able to benefit him greatly. He then carefully crafted Shaw's back story as a man hell bent on revenge for the death of his wife, when in actuality he was specifically targeting the intersect. Now that Walker and the intersect were both dead, his plan was coming together nicely.

Suddenly his secretary buzzed him and told him that his son was here.

"Show him in," he replied.

"Hey dad," the young man said as he came in the office and embraced his father.

"Good to see you. How was your trip," the senator replied.

"Good. A little bumpy," he said.

"Its great to see you Devon. Your mother and I are sad Ellie and the baby couldn't come," he said.

"I know but she is busy on her rotations this week and the baby has been a little sick so we figured it best that they stay home," Devon said.

"Well no matter. Your mother is waiting at the restaurant, so we better get going."

The senator picked up his phone to call his car.

"Jake this is Senator Woodcomb. We need the car out front in five minutes."

Casey was waiting to begin the interrogation and trying to plan his strategy. Sarah was still trying to find her calm center, but Casey was focused on trying to keep Shaw alive long enough for them to get the information needed. He knew if he let Sarah in there alone that Shaw would be dead before he closed the door, so he had to lead the interrogation. This ordinarily would not be a problem, but this was anything but ordinary, as Casey needed to bury his emotions as well. The team had been through hell in the last few months and his mind invariably wandered to when all of this shit started.

 _He had gotten an emergency alert from Chuck earlier in the day had requesting that he meet with him tonight in private and without Sarah. Casey didn't like it one bit, he knew Chuck was jealous and Sarah was just going through the motions so she would be able to get close to Shaw and find out what his true objective was, but something about the alert seemed too panicked for jealousy. Chuck was on edge about something and needed to talk, so he turned off the surveillance, and was waiting in Chuck's room for him to arrive._

 _A few minutes later Chuck popped in through the window and immediately got down to business._

 _"Are the cameras off?"_

 _"Yes as you requested. Look Bartowski if this is about Walker...,"_

 _"Casey I need to show you something," Chuck said as he interrupted him._

 _Casey was about to make a comment about how Chuck needed to toughen up and trust his girlfriend, but he looked over at the man and saw a hard look in his eye unlike one he had ever seen before._

 _"This isn't about you being jealous," Casey asked._

 _"No. It's about this," he said as he handed Casey a file._

 _"I've been putting this together on Shaw and it's a little bit rough, but this is who I think Shaw really is," Chuck said as Casey opened the file._

 _Casey opened the file and began to page to read through Chuck's analysis of Daniel Shaw. There were a myriad of pictures of people and places, along with different high-level classified memos._

 _"Did you..,"_

 _"I hacked the Ring," Chuck said._

 _"Jesus," Casey commented and turned his attention back to the file._

 _After 20 minutes Casey slowly closed the folder and looked at Chuck. He had a look of admiration in his eyes. The government had spent billions of dollars trying to destroy the Ring, but could not even obtain 1% of the information that Chuck had been able to provide in his file._

 _"I couldn't risk showing Sarah because Shaw is always on her ass and I didn't want him to find it," Chuck said as he waited for Casey's assessment of his file._

 _"Look Casey if I am off base here just tell me and...,"_

 _"Chuck!"_

 _Chuck was startled that Casey called him by his first name._

 _"It's good. This is the most information we have ever gotten on the Ring. If what you outline in here is true, then we are in a hell of a lot more trouble then we think," Casey said as he put the file down and began to pace the floor._

 _"So what do we do now," Chuck asked nervously._

 _"I need to think for a second," Casey said as he tried to process the enormity of the scenario laid out in the file._

 _"We gotta tell Sarah! I will...,"_

 _"Not yet," Casey said._

 _"Casey what do you mean? She is in danger..."_

 _"Bartowski listen to me! We don't know how many people are involved in this and Shaw is our only lead. Walker is too much of a hothead when it comes to you, and if you tell Walker right now she will kill him and then we are back to square one."_

 _"So what do we do Casey? I have to tell Sarah she is in danger," Chuck said in a panicked tone._

 _"I will tell her later tonight after we come up with a plan," Casey said._

 _"But Casey you don't know how she can get when she thinks that I'm keeping something from her," Chuck replied_

 _"Bartowski! First, she is a spy, and she will understand my logic and reasoning," Casey lectured with frustration._

 _"But Casey..."_

 _"Relax Bartowski I got this," Casey reassured him._

 _He thought back on it now and chuckled at how wrong he was. Once Sarah learned that Chuck was in danger and Casey hadn't told her immediately she gave him a black eye for his actions. Chuck however got off with a slight punch to the arm and a thorough night of protective Sarah. This is normally not a problem, but when your ultra protective spy girlfriend squeezes you as tight as an anaconda, while she is blissfully asleep, you tend not to be able to sleep very well._

 _The next day at the buymore neither had to ask the other how it went as they both nonchalantly ignored their bruising._

Casey smiled at the memory, but his smile faded as he thought about Paris.

 _Shaw aimed at virtually point blank range, and Casey knew that he and Sarah were dead. Before his assignment in Burbank he would welcome this moment with open arms. He was a stone cold killer who operated in a world of no promises for tomorrow, nor people that you could trust. Trust to Casey nothing, it was dangerous and foolish in the world that he lived in. He made no excuses for his decision to become a spy, it was a world that he willingly accepted and thrived in, but now as he saw the gun in Shaw's had draw down on him, he realized that he had changed._

 _John Casey, the bunt out killer who lived in a world on only today, realized he wanted tomorrow. He wanted to see his daughter and build whatever kind of relationship he could with her, or at the very least be able to say goodbye, but with Sarah in his arms and his gun on the ground, Shaw was not going to give him that chance. Casey could almost laugh at the irony as in the last moment of his life, he finally felt human again. Time seemed to slow as Shaw squeezed the trigger and the bullet exploded out of the barrel. Shaw's gun was pointed directly at his head, and Casey could only hope that whoever greeted him on the other side had a forgiving nature. He waited for the inevitable to happen, but the inevitable was replaced by the impossible, as Bartowski threw himself between Casey and the bullet, which gave him the time he needed to return fire and save the lives of both himself and Sarah._

 _Chuck however, did not fare as well. He had been hit square in the stomach, the bullet ripping a destructive path through his abdomen, and dropped him to the ground with extreme prejudice._

 _Casey squeezed off 3 rounds into Shaw knocking him into the river and then went to tend to Chuck. Often when someone is shot in the movies it is shown as being a relatively quick death, but the reality of the situation is much worse. He rolled him over and tried to stabilize his movement as Chuck thrashed about struggling to get air into his lungs. A GSW at center mass that impacts the lungs will cause the person to feel as if they are drowning, or not being able to catch their breath as their lungs are most likely filling with blood due to likely trauma in the area._

 _Casey had Chuck sitting up and was applying pressure to the wound, when Sarah slowly started to crawl towards Chuck as the effects of the drug began to wane. He was able to transfer him to Sarah and went to call in a medic for Chuck, his mind totally focused on saving his friend. He looked back on last time, and saw Sarah holding onto Chuck from behind, her hand covered in his blood as she slowly rocked him back and forth and whispered in his ear. John Casey would never forget that image for the rest of his life, nor the man who lay dying on the bridge, the man was his friend._

"Casey I'm ready," Sarah said as she roused him from his thoughts.

"So am I. Stay back until I call for you," Casey said as he pulled Shaw's unconscious body up on a pulley

The new stadium was going up on the outskirts of Philadelphia, it was a state of the art 85,000 seat monument to professional football for a city that has had its fair share of heartbreak in that area. Construction was going around the clock as the foundation was being laid and hundreds of cubic yards of cement were being poured almost daily. A small scaffold had been constructed for the crane and cement boom, which extended about 50 feet above the surface of the curing media. The stadium was mostly deserted with the exception of men milling around the opposite end of the complex, and the seemingly endless supply of cement trucks that were constantly flooding the area.

The first sensation that he felt was like he was in a blustery winter storm as the cold air swept around him, chilling his bones. The next two sensations he felt came together, disorientation, which was probably due to the tranquilizer, but the second sensation was more troubling, pain. His body ached from his ankles to his neck, and as he slowly opened his eyes, he realized the source of the pain. He inside a construction site and was suspended on the outside of the building, hanging from his arms which were bounded above his head. His shoulders burned as they supported his weight as the high winds caused his body to sway above the ground, the distance he gauged at 75 feet.

"Well our guest of honor has joined us," Casey said.

Shaw looked with dread into the smiling face of John Casey.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I don't own nor make any money from Chuck. Thanks for all the reviews, they are very much appreciated_

James Franklin was in a very good mood and was waiting for his companion in one of the most exclusive restaurants in DC. If the public really knew how many back room deals got done while consuming over cooked steak and watered down whisky, then they would probably have another revolution, he mused as he was nursing his drink. The last few days had gone a long way in securing his future as a power broker DC, and even though he hadn't heard from Shaw in a couple days, Walkers death gave him a huge level of relief. He had access to her service file, and if half of what was in there was true, then she was possibly the most dangerous assassin on earth.

She was unpredictable, and if anyone could derail their plans, it was her. After seeing how devastated she was when discussing the intersects death in the video of her interrogation, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of her rage.

He tried to push any negative thoughts out of his mind, as he got ready for the evening. He had a lot to celebrate tonight, and he was planning on a very special evening. He had been seeing a girl for about 6 weeks, and with his recent good fortune, was planning on making it a more permanent arrangement.

He was working on his second Manhattan, when he saw his lovely companion enter the restaurant. She smiled warmly when she located his table and approached. He returned the smile and stood to greet her.

"I'm sorry Jimmy. The session ran late," she said as she kissed him and sat down.

"No problem. Such is the life of a junior staff member," he said as he sat down.

"So what looks good here," she said as she opened the menu.

"You do," he smiled.

"Why Jimmy Franklin, you naughty boy," she said with feigned insult.

"I can't help it Carina I missed you," he said as he smiled.

"I know but I'm hungry, so dinner first and then dessert," she said as she winked at him.

"I will hold you to that."

"Please do," she replied.

"Casey you are a dead man! Once I get out of here I will hunt you down and kill you and Beckman, and there is nothing you can do about it! You are finished," Shaw boasted.

"I'm deeply moved Shaw," Casey replied.

"I want to know who your contact is. Who are you working for?"

Shaw knew the drill, Casey would try to beat a confession out of him some way, but it wouldn't work. The best thing about knowing their methods was that ultimately Shaw had the information that Casey needed, and therefore he had the power. Casey might rough him up, but he would be able to resist and hold out until his connection could get him out of here.

"Go fuck yourself Casey."

"Wrong answer," Casey said.

Shaw prepared himself for Casey to hit him, but strangely, he didn't move. He slowly opened a file and began to put the contents on the ground. Shaw looked on in disgust as the pictures showed his dead wife in various compromising positions with a very well known government official.

"What the fuck are you doing," Shaw screamed.

"Daniel Shaw. Born February 6th 1969...married to Janine...date of death may 5th 2006...recruited into the Ring September ...2002." Casey said as he went through his personnel file.

"You have a very interesting file Mr. Shaw."

"How did you get that?"

"Your Ring file? Chuck manage to hack it the first day you were assigned to us," Casey said.

"Wait the...,"

"Yes Shaw, we knew the first day," Casey said as he held up the pictures.

"It always bothered me that you were such the golden boy, so after Chuck found your file, I had him do a little more digging. You graduated magna cum laude from college, but then you enlisted in the army afterward. You had the education to go from green to gold, but you stayed with the grunts, and on top of that your MOS was motor pool. It made no sense."

Shaw remained silent as Casey continued to strip away his confidence.

"Then you meet your wife and are suddenly stationed at a top secret air base in Japan," Casey sneered.

"You get married and join the CIA, and you and your wife join the DC social scene," Casey said as he revealed pictures of both Shaw and his wife in compromising situations with many different DC power players.

"You were working fro the ring the entire time Shaw, first you seduce your wife, steal some classified information that you then use to blackmail her into marrying you. Then you whore yourself and your wife out to blackmail more people into giving you information. When you are secure in your new position you begin to tie up loose ends," Casey said as put down photos of many of the same people from before, only this time they were dead.

"Until you come to her," he said as he laid his dead wife's picture in front of Shaw.

"The thing about your wife never made sense to me, why would a woman who is just an analyst warrant a kill order? The answer is she wouldn't, unless someone within the director's security council sanctioned it, which is the very same council that you were a member of in 2006. You sanctioned a red order against your own wife," Casey said with disgust.

"You are insane! I didn't put kill order on my wife!"

"Yes you did, you put a kill order on her to silence her, the same way you tried to silence Walker" Casey said as he picked up the pictures.

"You are insane Casey and since both Chuck and Sarah are dead, I would like to see you try to prove any of this. It will be my word against yours, and by the time I'm done with you I will have them convinced that you interrupted a couple in love on a bridge in Paris and shot me. How do you think I'll make that look John? You in love with Walker and she chose me, so you shoot me to have her for yourself. Then I come back to save her only to find out she just couldn't live without me and killed herself. They will eat it up," Shaw smiled arrogantly

"You will tell me what I need to know," Casey said definitely.

"I don't think so major," Shaw huffed.

Casey swung Shaw into the building, and when he saw the interior, he suddenly began to panic. From the outside he could he could not see the interior of the floor very well and didn't notice any additional activity, but the reality was the floor was very active. Like many construction sites in the modern age that operated round the clock, the human factor has been replaced by automation. The floor was filled with small wells covered with rebar, to which the automated cement boom was filling each with laser precision.

"This is your idea of getting me to talk Casey? Not very creative. You won't get me to talk," Shaw laughed nervously as Casey deposited him in an unfilled well.

"Your right Shaw; I can't make you talk, but she can," Casey said as Sarah materialized out of the shadows.

"Sarah?" Shaw said in disbelief.

"Goodbye Mr. Shaw," Casey said as he turned and left.

"Casey wait no," Shaw called out behind him.

Every nightmare that Shaw ever had was manifesting in his mind as Sarah approached him, with a look on her face that could scare the most evil creature in hell. He knew immediately that he was looking into the eyes of the monster that was whispered about from her previous missions. It was a monster that had apparently been contained by Chuck Bartowski, but now that he was gone the monster was loose, and focused on Shaw.

Shaw tried to remain calm as she approached but he was failing miserably. The cement boom was already filling the well beside him and he knew he was next.

"Who is your contact Shaw," Sarah said as she pulled a knife out from behind her back.

"Is that supposed to...ahhhhh," he screamed as she grabbed his bound hands and sliced off one of his fingers.

"Sarah waaaa...," he screamed again as she cut off another.

The boom had reached his well, and Sarah pulled on the rope a bit to keep his upper body out of the cement, as his legs were quickly submerged. Blood poured from his right hand as two of his digests now laid submerged in the cement, and he tried desperately to free himself, but it was of no use.

"What is the name of your contact Shaw? Who are you working with," se said without the slightest bit of emotion.

"You bitch! You fucccc...nooooo," he screamed as she worked on the other hand.

The boom had finished filling his well and had moved on to the next, but because of the rope, he was only covered up to his chest in cement. The high density of the media made it difficult for him to breath, and the pain from his hands was unbearable.

Casey could hear the blood curdling screams, but ignored them as Sarah continued to apply her deadly trade.

"Give me the name Shaw," Sarah said.

"Go to heeeeaaaahhhhhh," he screamed as another finger left his hand.

"The name," Sarah said as she approached again.

"Ok! I don't know his name..but!" Shaw screamed as she grasped one of his fingers again.

"I know his code name...its Bruin," Shaw said as tears streamed down his face.

"Is that the truth?"

"Yeesssssaaaaahhh," he screamed as she cut off another one.

"Yes I swear to god! Stop please," Shaw screamed.

Sarah looked over her shoulder at Casey, he ran the name through a computer, and then he nodded to her.

"Thank you," Sarah said as she cut the rope and cased him to slide back down into the cement.

"No wait please," Shaw screamed as Sarah put her boot on his forehead.

"This is for Chuck," She said as she pushed him down under the cement.

Two years later Walter Jefferson was on the very same floor and felt like the luckiest man on earth. It was halftime of the game and he had managed to secure an endangered species at most football games

during halftime, an unoccupied stall. When he sat down to do his business head had no idea that 5 feel below him lay a body. In a final ironic bit or karmic retribution, pretty boy Daniel Shaw was forever entombed below a toilet.

"We have confirmation," Beckman said when she received the encrypted message from Casey.

"What about ancillary contacts," Corr said.

"Nothing yet. Shaw only knew about Bruin," Beckman said.

"Status of Shaw," Corr asked.

"Eliminated," Beckman replied.

"Good. We need to move on Franklin soon, once they find out Shaw is dead they might get spooked," Corr replied.

"We already have him. I just need to call it in," Beckman said

"Good. Bring him in. If he doesn't talk…,"

"He will talk," Beckman interrupted.

"if this works out, this kid's plan was incredible," Corr said.

"Yeah except for Paris," Beckman said sadly.

"I'm sorry Diane," Corr replied.

Beckman thought back to the day when Chuck approached her with a plan he had to identify the leak.

 _Shaw was recalled to Washington to meet with senior officials and Casey had sent her an alert 1 signal and requested that they meet. He had never sent one before, and once he conveyed the gravity of the situation, she found herself in Carina Miller's Baltimore safe house, surrounded by team Bartowski. She listened in rapt fascination until Chuck was finished briefing her on the situation, and his plan to take down the threat. She read through the file that he gave her, and the way he was able to draw connections and analyze data was nothing short of amazing. His take on the situation was unorthodox, and very liberal in terms of proof, but there was a tone and conviction in his voice that got her attention. He had been right on too many occasions for her to discount him, and with his full team supporting him, she knew that_

 _he was right._

 _"Do the you agree with this assessment," she asked the other members of the team._

 _"Yes ma'am. Once Chuck was able to hack the ring database it was just a matter of connecting the dots," Casey replied._

 _"I see. Agent Miller are you sure that you can do this assignment? It would involve you allowing certain liberties to be taken," Beckman said with a slight blush._

 _"Certainly ma'am. I know the risks and will plan accordingly," Carina replied._

 _"I see."_

 _Beckman looked at Sarah and noticed that she was standing closer to Chuck then normal, almost as if protecting him from an unseen enemy._

 _"Mr. Bartowski this operation that you have planned is extremely dangerous. The standard protocol dictates that I move you into protective custody immediately," Beckman said._

 _"But General...," Chuck began._

 _"However given the nature of the threat, I believe that would be detrimental to the situation."_

 _Sarah visibly winced at Beckman's words, and the general picked up on it. She wasn't happy about the danger that Chuck was exposing himself to and was having difficulty keeping her emotions in check._

 _"I would like a moment alone with Agent Walker," Beckman said._

 _"General if I may..," Chuck began afraid that maybe his crazy plan had somehow gotten Sarah in trouble._

 _"No you may not Mr. Bartowski. I said alone."_

 _"It's ok Chuck," Sarah said as Casey and Carina escorted him out of the room._

 _"Agent Walker what is the nature of your relationship with Mr. Bartowski ," Beckman asked when they were alone._

 _"Ma'am I'm...ah..,"_

 _"Oh can we please dispense with the bullshit. I'm asking you are you in love with him, because if you are you had better do a better job at hiding it!"_

 _"Ma'am I'm sorry I don't understand," Sarah said visibly pale._

 _"Sarah in order for Chuck's plan to work you are going to have to get close to Shaw so he will drop his guard. That will never happen if you can't control your emotions," Beckman said._

 _"I don't understand," Sarah replied._

 _"Your body language has been giving it away for Christ sake! That is a rookie Agent mistake, and I need you to stay focused! I already have an emotional wreck on my hands with Bartowski. If you insist in engaging in a relationship with Chuck, then I need you to wear the pants!"_

 _Sarah had never anticipated Beckman to respond to the situation like this. She imagined that she would be sent away and Chuck given a new handler if they found out if they were in love._

 _"Do you understand what I'm saying Sarah?"_

 _"I do ma'am. It's just we thought that I would be transferred," Sarah replied._

 _"Ordinarily yes, but Mr. Bartowski is anything but ordinary, and there is no one in the world I trust more with his security then you," Beckman said._

 _Sarah tried hard to suppress a smile, but ended up failing miserably._

 _"I do ma'am," Sarah said._

 _"Pardon me?"_

 _"I do love Chuck," Sarah replied with a smile that told of the relief that she felt._

 _"Good because he is going to need you now more then ever," Beckman said._


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I don't own nor make any $ from Chuck_

"So when do you have to really start on the campaign trail," Devon asked his father as they enjoyed a quiet moment alone in his office.

"Probably in the early fall. We will start doing the Sunday morning shows to get the ball rolling and then we will start rolling through the early primary states," the senator replied.

"Sounds like it's going to be a busy few months for you and mom. Are you sure you guys are up for it?"

"Oh sure. Your mother is a veteran campaigner and as feisty as a mongoose when things go negative," the senator said with a chuckle.

"I know but it's lots of travel and you had that heart attack 6 years ago and many different...,"

"Son I told you that we are fine. I have been cleared by the doctors and your mother is on board with everything," the senator replied.

"I know dad, it's just that when someone has been in Washington so long it can wear on them and change ...ah..,"

"What? What are you saying," the senator said with his eyes growing dark.

"Nothing Dad. I'm just being cautious. I just want the baby to have her grandparents around for a while," Devin said sheepishly.

"I understand son, and we will be. But this is a chance that I need to take. You understand," the senator said.

"Sure I do Dad."

"Good. Now I have an appropriations committee meeting at 4, but you can hang out in my office and then we can go to the party at Wilson's house tonight," the senator said.

"Ok sounds good. I'll just hang here."

"Oh and no long distance calls," the senator joked as he left.

"No problem. I'll just call Ellie on my cell," Devon replied as the senator left

Immediately after the door closed Devon removed a little box from his pocket and depressed the red button.

"Accessing feed," a voice said in his earpiece.

"Two minutes."

Devon's heart was pounding as he waited for the voice to come back on and give him the all clear.

"Got it. You are now invisible. Open your phone and activate the program," the voice said.

Devon opened his phone and pressed 3 numbers, which accessed a prerecord conversation that he had with Ellie. The conversation lasted 47 minutes and would effectively neutralize any remaining listening devices inside the office that they couldn't detect.

"Jesus Christ! Now what do you need me to do Casey," Devon spoke as the sweat poured down his neck.

"Put the tracer plug on the back of the computer, and then the secondary device on the bottom of the desk. It will be able to clone his personal phone from within the office."

"Ok," Devon said as he removed 2 small black stickers that were perfectly

camouflaged once placed on the specific substrates.

"Relax Devon. You are doing the right thing," Casey said.

Devon thought back to that day that Chuck told him about his father.

 _Casey and Sarah were against it, believing that Devon might be a part of it, but Chuck was adamant that Devon was not involved. Sarah and Casey insisted on going when he told Devon, and though she gave them some privacy to have their conversation, she watched Devon like a hawk, and protectively stood a heartbeat away from Chuck. Chuck explained everything to him, and although it was tough to hear, Devon actually could see the logic behind it. His father had gone to Washington as an eager and dedicated public servant, but over the years he had grown distant from his family and changed. There were a few signs that something had changed, but nothing like this, the man Chuck was describing was evil._

 _"I don't believe it," Devon said after absorbing all that Chuck told him._

 _"I'm sorry Devon, but everything leads to him," Chuck replied._

 _"I mean I know that Dad and I have not always seen eye to eye, but I thought I knew him," he said in disbelief._

 _"Devon it's because of me that my sister and you are in danger," Chuck said._

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"I'm the person that your father is looking for."_

 _"You? You are this high tech computer thing?"_

 _"Yes. Now many people have died to keep this a secret, but I'm trusting you with it."_

 _"Chuck you are Ellie's brother for Christ sake, and my father is...,"_

 _"Your father is not you. I have seen the way you love my sister and if anything ever happened to me I know the only person that could get her through it would be you. I have faith in you."_

 _They talked for a little while longer and Devon was becoming more concerned for the safety of Ellie and the baby. The problem was that if Chuck went into hiding, his father would most likely still lean his identity. He had already met Sarah at Devon's wedding, and she had been introduced as Chuck's girlfriend. How long would it be till he could piece together the truth? Once his father knew that Chuck was the intersect, he would stop at nothing to eliminate him, possibly even using Ellie and the baby to lure him out of hiding. Chuck told him what the plan was, and although he had reservations, the safety of his wife and daughter came first, and he agreed to help in anyway he could. They embraced as they left the table and agreed to keep Ellie out of it as long as they could. Then Casey came up to walk Devon out and Sarah came up to Chuck._

 _"Do you really think this is a good idea," Sarah said._

 _"Yeah I trust him."_

 _"How can you be sure Chuck?"_

 _"Because I trust my sister and I know that if anything ever happened to him, even I wouldn't be able to bring her back."_

 _"That boy trusts you," Casey said to Devon as he walked him out._

 _"I know. I'm not going to tell my father Casey, I'm going to help Chuck. Don't worry," Devon said as he felt the sweat begin to form on his brow._

 _"It's not me you need to worry about."_

 _"Why is that," Devon said._

 _"Because if you betray him, she would kill you before I even had a chance to think about it," Casey said as he motioned his head back to Sarah._

 _Devon swallowed hard at his words then turned his attention back to Sarah and Chuck_

 _"They really do love each other don't they,"_

 _"It's pathological," Casey said as they left_.

"Devon we got it! Hurry up and disconnect everything before your father gets back. The meeting just ended," Casey said.

Devon did as instructed and not a second too soon as his father walked in the door.

"So how did it go," Devon asked as he dabbed a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Oh not too bad. Just taxpayers dollars at work," the senator said.

"Hey are you feeling ok? You seem a bit flushed."

"Oh fine, maybe a little worn down from all the travel and the new baby," Devon replied.

"Well that's nothing a night out on the taxpayers won't fix," the senator said as they got ready to leave.

"Oh yeah. What's that expression again," Devon asked.

"The taxpayers money at work," the senator replied as they left the office.

Casey had run a trace of all of Woodcomb's files and discovered an encrypted server that he had downloaded numerous files to. Once he located the server, he was able to forward it on the NSA supercomputing center, which would begin to breach and dismantle the encryption. Sarah was sitting off to the side of Casey, using Chuck's laptop. He had put a picture of them as his background, and it was the same picture that Sarah carried with her. She was messaging Ellie over a secure network that her husband was ok and everything was going according to plan and that she shouldn't worry.

Chuck had established the network specifically for Sarah and himself, and many a night when they were under surveillance and forced to stay in separate places, she would chat back and forth with him right under the Casey's nose. They knew that he would be monitoring his social media, so Chuck disguised his messages to look like he was chatting with a gaming community, while he had disguised Sarah's as chatting with Carina. It was a pretty ingenious system that would even scramble their messages as mindless conversations which would randomly generate a string of pre messaged chats. The only hitch was that it ran out and repeated itself after 175 lines of text, but strangely Casey never was able to see that they were basically repeating themselves every night. Chuck figured that he probably went to bed, mortified at how boring their lives were.

"Devon did good. Chuck was right about him I guess," Casey said to Sarah.

"He was right about everything," she answered with a smile at a memory that came back to her of one of the many conversations they had using this system.

 _C: u know I'm right AW_

 _S: first don't call me AW on here it pisses me off. Second it was not!_

 _C: yes it was. It was here._

 _S: what do you mean here?_

 _C: during our chats. That's when you knew you were in love with Bartowski._

 _S: Oh for gods sake. You really are full of yourself tonight._

 _C: yup. Hey how many girls have their secret boyfriends, swing off a building to save them?_

 _S: there you go again! No more heroics!You scared the shit out of me tonight when you went back for Morgan in the car I thought you blew up!_

 _C: now that you mention it u were pretty pissed lol_

 _S:not funny_

 _C: I know I'm sorry if I scared you._

 _S: why did you that? Do you know what would happen to me if you got killed?_

 _C: I know but I couldn't help it he is my buddy_

 _S: you know for a smart guy you are pretty stupid._

 _C: I know I'm sorry..I promise to make it up to you. You can't see me but I'm trying to entice you with my come hither look._

 _Sarah couldn't help but laugh. Even though she was furious at him for putting himself in danger, he always managed to make her laugh._

 _S: if you think just a simple date night is going to make up for this then you really are an idiot._

 _C: I may well be an idiot, but I knew you fell for me like a blind roofer._

 _S: lol...how is that?_

 _C: because I was the blind roofer that fell right after you did._

 _S: I didn't fall for you first_

 _C: of course you did._

 _S: you know nothing!_

 _S: ok if it make you feel better Sarah let's say that you didn't fall for me first...even though it ain't true lol._

"You alright Walker," Casey asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," she replied.

"Sarah maybe you should get some rest," Casey said.

"No I'm fine...,"

"Fine my ass. You have been through hell the last few days, you need to take care of yourself," Casey said.

She turned her back on him and waited for the onslaught to start, but when she turned around he never expected what she said.

"I can't Casey. Every time I close my eyes I see him on the bridge. It's like watching it all again! I can't take it," Sarah said as she crumpled to the floor.

John Casey was a man of many talents, but comforting a grieving woman was not one of them. He was the one who usually made the widow and was totally unprepared for comforting one. Without a word he reached down and pulled her up and held her in an embrace. He wasn't great with words, but at a time like this, he somehow knew exactly what she needed to hear.

"It's ok Sarah. We will get through this together. I promise," he said.

Sarah hugged Casey tighter then any woman ever had. Who would have figured that John Casey was lovable.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Still don't own nor make any $ from Chuck. Don't worry Sarah and Casey will not be bumping uglies in this story_

"Thanks Casey," Sarah said as she broke the embrace.

"You tell anyone and I will kill you."

"No problem," Sarah laughed.

"It's time to call Carina."

Senator Woodcomb excused himself from the party at Secretary Wilsons house and walked outside. In one of the great metaphors for our time, Washington DC is actually built on a swamp, and the warm august air and moisture make it the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. The senator didn't get bothered too much about them; he had managed to gain a tolerance for pests within reason. Now that his plan was about to be realized, it was time to get rid of some of the loose weight. Franklin had served his purpose well, but was nothing but a liability going forward, and the senator could not afford something coming back to him. He quickly got out his encrypted phone and dialed a number.

"Bulldog here."

"Bulldog this is Bruin. Do you have eyes on the target?"

"Yes sir. He and his lady friend are having dinner."

"Wonderful. Clean them both, understand?"

"Understood."

"Bruin out," he said as he hung up the phone and returned to the party.

Carina was getting her coat at the restaurant when she got Sarah's signal. Franklin saw her by the coat check and walked up behind her. She moaned softly as she felt his hands begin to rub her back. She looked up at him, and staring into his eyes, gently kissed him on the mouth.

"Let's get out of here," he said as he gently began to grind into her.

"Follow me," she said as she took him by the hand and lead him out of the restaurant.

"Where are we going?" He asked laughing.

"To have that special desert I promised. I know you have that car with the big back seat," she said playfully.

"Wait what if somebody see's us," Franklin asked.

"If I like the look of them they can join in," Carina replied.

The wraith watched its prey in the night as he headed for the car. The night was dark and humid, which would minimize detection visually, but maximize olfactory detection, as odors would tend to hold in the humid air. Time was quickly running out as the target approached the car, but the wraith would not be rushed, as vast experience had demonstrated that this was the most dangerous time. Wet work is easy when they are unaware of your presence, but this needed to be a close quarters kill, and surprised targets are always the most dangerous. Satisfied that it was still undetected, the wraith moved in.

Franklin was very much looking forward to the remainder of the evening. The dinner had been fantastic, and as Carina seductively led him into the car, the desert promised to be unforgettable. He looked longingly at her beautiful behind swaying mere inches from him, and his body temperature jumped 3 degrees when he thought of what possibilities were to come.

Once Carina got him inside the car he pounced on her.

"Whoa easy there big guy. I will take care of you, but ladies first," she winked as she adjusted herself for his access.

"Oh you will be the death of me," Franklin laughed as he got on his knees and assumed the position.

Just as he was about to approach his target, Carina suddenly ensnared him in a scissor lock around his neck.

"Whaaa," was as far as he got before he stumbled into unconsciousness.

She took out her phone and dialed a number

"Transport for 2. Tell Walker the douche is in the bag."

Suddenly Carina saw a man standing with a gun right outside. He had her at point blank range and dead to rites.

"Sorry love. Looks like you're nights about to get a lot worse," he said as he smiled devilishly.

"So is yours," came a voice from behind.

Suddenly she saw the mans head slam against the roof of the car, and his unconscious body drop beside it.

"Do you ever have a mission where you don't end up half naked in the back of a car, with a man between your legs," Casey said as he stepped into the light and took in then scene.

"Yes but only when I work with you," she shot back with a wink.

"Walker's friends," Casey grumbled as he loaded up the two bodies for transport.

Franklin awoke to find himself handcuffed to a chair and sitting in a standard interrogation room. There was a table in front of him with an empty chair, but otherwise the room seemed to be empty, and too quiet for Franklin's taste.

"Hello? Is there anyone there? I am the executive assistant to the deputy Secretary of State!"

"We know who you are," came a voice from the back of the room, followed by footsteps.

"Corr?"

"Hello Jimmy. I'm sorry may I call you Jimmy," he asked as he sat down across from him.

"Corr what the hell is going on? Let me go this instant!"

"Now why would I do that?"

"Corr once secretary Wilson hears of this...," was as far as he got before Corr slammed his hand down on the table so hard that Franklin was sure he broke it.

"You look like an intelligent man Jimmy so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I would advise you against trying to intimidate me in this arena, because son you have no idea who you are dealing with."

Franklin tried to remain on even keel, but it was difficult for him to grasp his situation. He was a political appointment and therefore very naive of his true position in the Washington machine, so he feel victim to the great vice of all power hungry zealots, he thought he was more important then he was.

"Corr who do you think you are dealing with? I'm not some terrorist! I am an American citizen and you can't detain me like this! Your career is finished," he said with fake bravado.

Corr stared at him with a stare that would wither a charging Rhino. The look unnerved Franklin to the point that he could feel sweat beads fall down the back of his neck.

"Mr. Franklin I am sure you are familiar with many of the positions available within the federal government, but being unfamiliar with the military, I am going to educate you on the nature of my position within the Navy. This position was specifically designated by an act of congress in the year 1942, and is level omega. Now what the omega designation means is that country will neither confirm nor deny my existence, so very few people know what I actually do. My position has two distinct missions that are designated for it, the first is the public and administrative part of it where I deal with people like you. Attend intelligence briefings and make recommendations to the DOD and the current administration," Corr began.

"The second part deals with situations like the one we find ourselves in now, which is eliminate any threat to the safety and security of the citizens of this country. Unfortunately for you Mr. Franklin, you are designated a threat to the people of this country, and that is the part of my job that I take sacred. I don't give a damn for dealing with those bastards on Capitol Hill, but I do it so I can be in a position like this when the people of this country need me. You are engaged in treasonous activity, so if you think for one moment that the rules of citizenship apply in this case, you are mistaken. There is no law that applies to you in this situation, there is only the truth, and I am fully authorized by this country to get it from you by any means necessary."

"Now do we understand each other?"

Franklin swallowed hard and nodded.

"Good," Corr said.

"I would suggest you tell me everything you know about what is going on Jimmy, because if you don't, you will not be long for this world."

"You know I never figured you for a rat," Casey said to the man handcuffed to the chair and sporting a heavily bruised face.

"Well looks can be deceiving," the man joked.

"SAS is on their way to get you and from what I gather, you most likely won't last the flight, so anything you tell me could have an impact in your sentence," Sarah said.

"I know the deal Sarah. Nothing you can offer me will be able to make me talk."

"Well that's a shame. You were a good agent once, but I guess that Cole Barker is already dead," Sarah replied.

"Just like Chuck," Cole laughed.

Sarah turned and charged him, toppling the chair over and landing her hands on his neck.

"What the fuck did you say," she wailed as she tried to squeeze the life out of his body.

"Walker stand down," Casey yelled as he was able to finally pull his partner off of him.

"Cool off," he said as he threw her out of the interrogation room.

Then he went to go pull Barker up, his face was still a bit purple and there were scratch marks against his neck, but he was still breathing. He pulled him back up into a sitting position and checked his restraints.

"SAS will be here in ten minutes," Casey said as he turned to leave.

"Thank you Casey," Barker said.

"Don't thank me. I should of let her do it," Casey said as he slammed the door.

Barker knew he was still under surveillance, so he made a slight move with his wrist and he felt his restraints give. He had knocked his shoulder out of the socket when Sarah hit him and used the new angle to get the torque he needed to break the high-density plastic ties that they used to bind his wrists to the chair. His legs we're still chained to the floor, but he could take care of that when the SAS came to get him, now he just needed to wait.

"Thank you Sarah," he mumbled with a smirk.

"Is there anything else that you can tell me," Corr asked as he looked through a mountain of papers that Franklin had written as part of his confession.

"No that's everything," Franklin said as the sweat poured out of him.

"Good. Transfer of one," Corr called out as he got up to leave.

"Wait what happens to me now," Franklin asked with fear in his eyes.

"Now you go away Jimmy," Corr said as he left.

He walked into a makeshift briefing room that was set up outside the main interrogation chamber.

"With the new information that we have I think that we can say conclusively that this threat is limited to a few principals," Beckman said.

"What did the trace of Bruin's computer show," Corr asked.

"Funds were being diverted from an offshore account to a corporation in the Cayman islands. The corporation is a front for an agricultural firm known as Davis Fields. Davis Fields is the name of Cole Barkers father," Lassiter said as he looked up from the computer.

"We can confirm from the trace on his phone that Bruin did call Barker last night to eliminate Franklin and by default Agent Miller," Beckman said.

"Very well," Corr said with a sigh.

"What's on your mind Ambrose," Beckman asked when she saw the admirals dejected look.

"Something is not adding up," he said.

"What do you mean," Lassiter asked from his computer.

"Excuse me sir, but SAS is here to take custody of Barker," a yeoman said as he opened the door.

"Very well, we will pick this up after the transfer," Corr said signaling the end of the meeting and the clearing of the room.

Once everyone had cleared out Corr rubbed his hand over a weathered face and exhaled deeply.. He was a pragmatic man and he felt like he was missing something. Shaw and Barker were two highly placed operatives, and even if Bruin had access to Shaw, he couldn't figure out how Bruin would be able to get access to a foreign agent like Barker. Access to allied foreign agents is heavily classified, even the executive branch is barred from knowing their names, due to the security risk. The only people who would have access were high level DOD brass, which would mean that someone else in the defense department was involved.

"What are you missing Ambrose," Corr said as he rubbed his tired eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: I don't own nor make any $ from Chuck. Thanks for all of the reviews, and please keep them coming._

Carina waited outside Casey's hospital room and tried to compose herself. She hated hospitals, from the sterile atmosphere to the suffocating feeling of despair; she despised every thing about them. Most psychologists would probably say that she had a fear of facing her own mortality, but Carina knew it went deeper then that. She could handle anything that happened to her, but couldn't handle when someone she cared about was sick or dying. She remembered back to the time when her mother was dying of breast cancer. She had never been through anything as emotionally painful as watching someone she loved dying in front of her, and she was absolutely powerless to help her. She was grateful for the time she spent with her, but seeing her suffer was like being in prison of tortured emotions, and the only one who got her through the ordeal was Sarah. She smiled when she thought of how unlikely a paring they were, but realized how incredibly fortunate she was to have her in her life. Carina was the total opposite of Sarah, where Sarah was reserved Carina was impulsive, and where Carina was cavalier with relationships, Sarah was cautious. In fact Sarah was the type of person that Carina usually had an aversion to, despite these differences or maybe because of them, Carina and Sarah became best friends.

The first time Carina knew there was something between Sarah and Chuck was when she met her for dinner on evening when they were both back in DC. They talked about Bryce and what it did to her when he betrayed her, but strangely, Sarah didn't seem to care that much. She was hurt that he didn't trust her, but deep down, she knew that she didn't trust him either so maybe in the end his betrayal was not so much of a surprise after all. Carina was floored at Sarah's honesty. Usually to get this kind of information out of her she would have to pull her teeth, but here she was just offering it up. At that moment Carina knew her friend had changed, she knew Sarah better then anyone else and, although the change in her was slight, it was very noticeable to Carina. She immediately began to probe her friend to find the genesis of the change in her, and after hearing her talk about Bryce, she suspected that it wasn't him.

"How is your new assignment going," she asked.

"Oh not too bad," Sarah replied.

"So how is working with Casey?"

"Eh you know the guy has his issues," she said.

"So how is the asset," Carina said.

"He's ...eh...it...not that bad," Sarah stammered.

Sarah was quiet for a minute, and Carina knew that she struck a nerve. She knew Sarah very well and picked up on her hesitation. Sarah would never hesitate with an answer if it was just business, her mind was so thoroughly trained that only some type of internal conflict would derail her thought process. Talking about Bryce or Casey didn't faze her in the least, but just the mention of this guy brought her to a halt.

 _Oh yes there is something here_ Carina thought to herself.

She was about to ask another question, when Sarah completely blindsided her.

"Do you ever feel like you have been doing this job for too long," Sarah asked.

"What do you mean," Carina

"Oh nothing. Never mind forget I said anything,"

"No you can't do that Sarah. Tell me what you are thinking," Carina pressed.

"It's stupid. It's just, did you ever want to have a more normal life," Sarah asked.

"What do you mean normal," Carina asked.

"Nothing it's stupid," Sarah replied.

"It's not stupid," Carina said.

"You mean no more agency? Normal 9-5, 30 year mortgage, house full of kids and husband," Carina laughed.

"See I told you it was stupid," Sarah replied.

"No it's not stupid, but it's not for me," Carina replied.

"Yeah not for people like us," Sarah replied.

"No. I said it's not for me, but I think it could work for you," Carina said.

"C'mon Carina don't make fun of me," Sarah chided her friend.

"I'm not making fun of you Sarah. I think it can work for you, all you need is the right guy," she winked.

Sarah noticeably blushed at her words, but tried to cover quickly.

"After my history? Please I'm done with relationships. I gotta go to the bathroom," she said as she got up and left the table.

"Well I guess I gotta go meet this guy," Carina said softly as she watched her friend head to the ladies room.

"She looks so happy," Carina smiled as she saw Sarah look back.

Two weeks later Carina hitched herself to the team, and their mission to recover a stolen diamond. Technically they were assisting her case, but in reality she was there to find out all she could about the asset who had turned her friends world upside down. When she met Chuck she didn't find him too overly impressive, but when she saw the way he worked within his team, she was blown away. She was also blown away with how far gone Sarah was for him, and frankly, it scared her a little bit. She had never seen Sarah this overly protective of anyone, or so obviously in love before. Carina was very protective of Sarah and wanted to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt, but the problem was Sarah was so inexperienced with men, that she didn't know what was good for her. Carina made it her mission to protect Sarah by testing all of her men to see if they were good enough for her.

Her criteria was simple, if she was able to seduce them, then they were not good for Sarah. Bryce was easier then the SATs, and thought he was seducing Carina, but then again he was never that smart. She put on a full blitz for Chuck, but couldn't get anywhere with him. As a matter of fact she got a healthy dose of over protective Sarah and a bloody lip for her trouble, but she walked away happy knowing that her friend found a good guy.

It was because of this good guy that Carina readily agreed to be part of his plan, and as she slowly leafed through the same magazine for the thousandth time, she remembered the conversation she had with Sarah when all of this madness started. They were in Carina's safe house in Baltimore and had just finished briefing Beckman on the plan.

"So are you sure about this," Sarah asked her.

"Yes," Carina replied.

"I wish there was another way, I'm sorry that you have to get dragged into this," Sarah said sadly.

"You are not dragging me into this. I'm a big girl Sarah, I know how to take care of myself."

"I know..its just I feel bad," Sarah replied.

"Why?"

"For getting you involved in something that doesn't involve you," Sarah said sadly.

"Doesn't involve me," Carina barked as her anger flashed.

"Listen to me Walker! You life and happiness concerns me! You are more then just my friend, you are my family! I'm not going to just sit by when some asshole wants to make you a widow, because I might break a goddamn nail!"

Sarah was taken aback by her friend's sudden display of emotion.

"Carina..I can't ...please...," Sarah said as she struggled with her emotions.

"I know Sarah. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen," she said as she gave her friend a reassuring hug.

"I do worry about you Carina," Sarah said as she hugged her back.

In that embrace Carina felt every emotion that Sarah was trying to verbalize. She trusted her with the most important thing in her life, she trusted her with Chuck.

"Thank you so much," Sarah said as tears fell down her face.

"You never have to thank me Sarah. That's what sisters are for," Carina replied.

"I love you Carina."

"I love you too."

"Oh how sweet. I guess I need to get the baby oil and popcorn," came a voice interrupting their embrace.

"Blow me Casey," Carina replied.

"Anytime anywhere," Casey chuckled as he walked off.

"Now Sarah don't worry. Everything will be ok.

"God I hope your right," Sarah replied.

Admiral Corr sat in his office and tried to make sense out of the past few hours, he was not a man who tended to overreact, but something was very wrong. They had a dead SAS team that was killed by a dead British operative, who until a mere two hours ago, was a decorated operative of the British government. This was the second time in less then a week in which an operative died in his custody, and to say Corr was angry, was the understatement of the year. He was a man given to obsessive tendencies, and was analyzing every conceivable point where there could be a traitor, but he couldn't find it. He hated the feeling that was permeating through him right now, it was a feeling of incompetence, and the fact that he couldn't figure out who the traitor was, only served to infuriate him further.

 _How the hell could Bruin get access to the foreign agent list? Even the president of the United States didn't have that access_...he rattled around in his brain.

The only people who had access to it were those in the upper echelon of the intelligence offices, and by congressional decree, these were unelectable positions. They were reserved for the highest-ranking military leaders, who were carefully and thoroughly screened. The fact that Bruin had access to the list meant that he had someone on the inside, and more specific, someone in within Corr's circle.

Many years ago Corr acquired a love of tea while stationed on the Middle East, and when he rotated back stateside, had it imported as no American tea ever measured up. He poured himself a cup and let the steaming liquid cool, as he thought through his problem. As much as it pained him to admit it, all roads to the traitors' identity lead to Diane Beckman.

 _Barker's death was not an accident, and when Corr examined the video Barker was clearly going after Walker. Beckman had killed him, but was she really involved? Why would she order him to kill her even after she freed her earlier from prison...the questions rattled around in his brain without any answers._

 _It could be possible that she is trying to throw me off her scent, but what does she hope to gain? The intersect project is dead, so why would she sabotage her project? What did she hope to gain?_

Corr read through her personnel file again looking for anything that he could use, but everything just came up empty. He picked up his tea and was about to drink it, but stopped suddenly when his eyes began to sting, and his mucus membranes became highly irritated. He threw the cup down and ran to his sink to flush out his eyes, nose and mouth, letting the water clean out the toxic vapor.

"Nightshade," Corr said.

He had this reaction before to atropine, which is the active ingredient in the Nightshade berries, which is used to make the poison. Corr had a hypersensitivity allergy to atropine, which caused him to react to the mere scent of it. Fortunately for him, this allergy saved his life on more then one occasion by allowing him to detect it.

"Goddamn amateurs," Corr huffed as he threw down his towel in disgust.

He needed to find this traitor now, but if he alerted base security now the traitor would slip away. He put the video of Barkers death on again, and after the 5th time of watching Barker's attempted escape, he finally saw it.

"Son of a bitch," Corr mumbled.

He watched it twice more before he was fully convinced, and then picked up his phone and dialed the base security.

"Security Duty Officer (DO)," a voice said.

"Do this is Admiral Corr. Pull all security from Franklin immediately," he said.

"Yes sir," came the reply.

"Very good," Corr said as he hung up.

He waited three minutes and then keyed the emergency medical code into his phone, which sent out a base wide alarm. He figured the Alarm was the distraction that the assassin would use to get to Franklin, once the code went out from his office, all hell would break loose, which would provide the perfect cover.

Corr didn't have much time, and got up and headed down to interrogation room where Franklin was still being held, confident that unless he was very wrong, Franklin would never leave this base alive.

Franklin sat alone in his in the darkened interrogation room. He was still restrained in his chair from his interrogation with Corr, and his mind was racing with fear over what would happen to him. The absence of light added to the sensory deprivation, and was a standard technique that most agents were trained to resist, but Franklin was not and agent and he was terrified and startled by a sound behind him.

"Who's there," Franklin called into the darkness.

"It's me," a voice said as a body materialized from the darkness.

"What took you so long? You need to get me out of here," Franklin said.

"Sorry James," the person said as they raised a gun to his head.

"No! Please!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Corr said as he crept out of the darkness with his gun raised at the assassin.

"Corr," the assassin said.

"I never thought it would have been you general."


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: I still don't own nor make any $ from Chuck_

"How did you know?"

"I didn't until the tea. You were the only one who knew about that, but your mistake was the nightshade. I'm allergic to it," Corr replied.

"Bad luck for me I guess."

"Yes it is Ron. Now drop the gun and kick it over to me," Corr said.

"Oh God please help me," Franklin cried as he stared down the barrel of Lassiter's gun.

"Shut up," Lassiter snapped.

Corr analyzed Lassiter's body language and demeanor, and after years of experience in the arena, saw all the warning signs of an unstable man. He quickly realized that Franklin was the key, as Lassiter was taking a terrible risk at exposure by trying to kill him here. He needed to isolate him quickly before he took out Franklin.

Lassiter looked over toward Corr and kept his gun trained on Franklin.

"I can't do that Ambrose. You know I can't go in," Lassiter said.

"We go back a long way Ron, but don't test me on this! Drop the gun now!"

Lassiter's mind raced with possible solutions to the current scenario he found himself in. He needed Franklin dead, as he was the only remaining loose end, but it was the only leverage that he could possibly use to escape. He could only get away by using Franklin as a hostage, but what he didn't know, was he already exposed his bluff when Corr realized Franklin was the key.

Corr tensed as he read the shift in Lassiter's body position. He looked more relaxed as if he found a possible solution to his problem.

"Now here is my deal Ambrose," Lassiter began.

"First...,"

Franklin screamed as the room erupted into gunfire and Lassiter's blood sprayed his face. Corr sent two bullets directly into the cerebellum and spinal column in the back of Lassiter's brain, preventing any reflex firing and dropping him instantly.

Corr walked over and looked down at the dying man. The destruction of the cerebellum and spinal column had left him motionless, and as lay dying the last words that made it to his brain were from Corr.

"I told you not to test me Ronny."

"Well Mr. Franklin, it appears we have some more talking to do," Corr said to a virtually catatonic Franklin.

George Garrison walked out of his Malibu mansion and let the warm California sun cascade over him. The Oscar winning Hollywood mogul was hosting a fundraiser for his friend Senator Woodcomb in a week, and as he looked out on his meticulously landscapes yard, he smiled with delight as he contemplated his future possibilities. He watched as his house staff began to direct the event staff where to set up for the fundraiser, and thought back to the journey that brought him to this moment. Over the past 50 years he had been engaged in an active campaign to transform the country, and after years of working, his goal was within reach.

Garrison's image, like everything else in Hollywood was a facade. He represented himself as a penniless immigrant who worked his way up and became the head of his own studio, by hard work and honest business practices, which was symbolic of the American Dream. In actuality he was the descendent of wealthy members of the _Frikorps Danmark, which was_ set up at the initiative of the SS during WWII in Denmark. He was indoctrinated at a young age by his father and mother to cherish the ideals of socialism and Nazism. Using seed money from his vast family fortune, he built his film studio with the intent of using it as a propaganda arm for a new socialist government of America. Cloaking himself in liberal causes, he donated heavily to liberal candidates that granted him access and influence for his message.

His studio was the perfect outlet for him, as he began by making films about American independence and freedom, but then transitioned to a more critical look on how destructive our current foreign policy really is. His built up acclaim as a film maker and visionary, gave his message a large audience and his orchestrated move from pro-USA towards anti-USA films added gravitas; as if one so enlightened can be disenfranchised with the USA, then it must really need to be changed.

Garrison had met Woodcomb many years ago when he was merely a star rep running for the Senate, and quickly developed a relationship with him. With his financial backing, Woodcomb won his senate seat, and was able to advance all the way to the cusp of the presidency, all the while firmly entrenched in Garrison's pocket. He spent the better part of the last 30 years doing special "favors" for Woodcomb, and had more then enough incriminating evidence on the Senator, should he ever try to defy him. Using the access he got from Woodcomb he was able to penetrate every governmental security agency, and began to fill them with people loyal to him. He created his own shadow army that would replace the existing government from the inside, he created the ring. He watched as workers arrived and began to assemble the large tent on his lawn where the fundraiser would be held, and saw his future coming together.

 _It would serve as a good starting point to a new administration, my administration_..he thought with a sinister smile.

Sarah was dead tired as she headed to the Casey's medical facility. Like many agents that had "off the books" locals, Casey used this facility when he wanted to remain anonymous. The small facility was run by the brother of one of his old platoon members, and was so well hidden, that it wasn't on anybody's radar, not even Beckman didn't know about it. Sarah had wanted to go see Casey earlier, but she delayed when she was called back to a meeting with Beckman.

She knew that she needed to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes the same scenario played out again.

 _They were on the bridge in Paris, Casey had gone for help and Chuck could barely speak. Sarah was holding him and trying desperately to stop the bleeding, but she just couldn't. The warm liquid pulsed through her hands with his every breath, and she felt his warm body grow colder in her arms. She squeezed tighter, hoping she could somehow hold him together long enough for help to arrive, but as she felt his breath go shallow, she knew his time was running out. Although Sarah's heart was breaking into a billion pieces, she knew that she had to be strong and needed to calm him down. She was always his rock and a good barometer for him to gauge his dangerous the situation was. If she looked terrified, then he would be twice as terrified and she wouldn't let that happen._

 _In a way these two had been preparing for this moment for their whole lives, they were two opposite ends of the spectrum that complemented each other perfectly. Before this assignment Sarah Walker was just a name, but Chuck became the foundation on which she built the woman she was today. He knew her better then anyone else ever had, and helped her discover all the wonderful things in life, like family and love. She knew him better then she knew herself, and more importantly knew that he needed her more then ever before._

 _"Chuck listen to me," she whispered into his ear._

 _"I need you to calm down. You need to hang in here with me," she begged._

 _He leaned his head back and looked up at her._

 _She smiled and kissed him on the forehead._

 _"That's it," she said as she fixed her eyes on his._

 _"Now I want you to listen to what I say and don't interrupt," she said which drew a faint smile from him._

 _"When you are out of the hospital and feeling better, I want to go shopping for rings," She said._

 _She saw his eyes go wide and then a small tear form in the corner, and it took everything in her not to fall apart._

 _"You have no idea what kind of ring to pick out for me, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life with some ugly ring on my finger so I'm going with you."_

 _He smiled back weakly as his vision began to grow dark._

 _"Now the wedding will have to be in the summer because I hate the cold, and we can discuss the honeymoon when you're feeling better," she said as she saw his eyes dull._

 _"Chuck look here," she panicked as she shook him._

 _His eyes fluttered but then looked back to her._

 _"You are not getting out of marrying me Bartowski," Sarah said as she felt the tears stream down her face._

 _He smiled back at the dark shape that he saw as his vision was almost totally gone. He felt Sarah squeeze him tightly one last time and scream his name, but then the darkness took him._

She tried to push all the thoughts form her mind as she went to the front desk and gave them the name that Casey had told her to use.

"Hi I'm here to see John Burton," she said to the sweet looking lady working the nurse's station.

"Are you a friend or family member?"

"My name is Sam Burton he is my brother," Sarah replied

"Oh yes he is in suite D4, go right on up."

"Thank you, could you tell me if he had had any visitors yet," Sarah asked.

"I believe that his wife is up there with him," the nurses replied cheerfully.

"Carina," Sarah said as she rolled her eyes and headed up.

One of the many interesting things about Washington DC, that very few people knew about, was that there was an entire city underground. A myriad of tunnels, moving everything from people to mail packages, crisscrossed underneath the city to allow those in power to meet away from the public eye. Corr was onboard an electric cart that hummed along silently at a speedy 40 miles per hour, heading for a very important meeting, and carrying a locked briefcase. The cart came to a stop at small platform, where he was met by uniformed military.

"He is expecting you sir. Please scan in," one of the guards said.

Corr went over to a large metal door and put his face into a small opening, where a laser scanned his eyes and the door clicked to signal it had unlocked. A man in a dark suite opened the door from the inside to greet him.

"This way please Admiral," the man said as Corr followed behind and the door was locked behind them. They made their way through a brightly lit corridor and repeated the same the security process at the door on the far end. The door opened and Corr was ushered inside, where he found a single man waiting for him.

"Well Ambrose, I take it if we are meeting this way the situation is severe," the man said.

"Yes Mr. President, it's dire," Corr replied.

"Tell me what you got," President Mitchell said.

Carina heard a beep on her phone, which alerted her to the presence of someone on the grounds. She checked the surveillance and saw Sarah approaching the door.

"Hey how are things going…where," Sarah said as she came in the door and saw the empty bed.

"Relax Walker he is in the bathroom," Carina laughed.

"Oh. How has he been?"

"Moody and testy today, and on top of it the baby is mobile. The typical toddler," Carina laughed.

"Has he rested at all today," Sarah asked as she saw his laptop open and files on the bed.

"Yeah a bit, but he is getting stronger now and it's harder for him to sit still. I don't know how you work with him," Carina said.

"The doctor gave him strict orders for bed rest. He is not supposed to be working on anything! He knows this," Sarah said as she began to see red.

"I'm gonna rip him a new ass...," she stopped suddenly as a visibly weary Chuck Bartowski came out of the bathroom.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? You know that you are not supposed to be working!"

"I told you she would be pissed Chuck," Carina laughed.

"You just went through major surgery for Christ sake. Half of the goddam world wants you dead and instead of trying to recover you are back on that damn computer!"

"Sarah its not what it looks like I was just worried about you and I was…,"

"Not thinking is what you were doing! The doctor told you no stress at all and you pull something like this? Do you think I can't take care of myself," Sarah fumed.

"No not at all…," was as far as he got.

"If you ass is not in that bed in 6 seconds, it will be nailed to my wall!"

"Yes ma'am," Chuck said as he dove underneath the covers.

"Good."

"Well I'm gonna give you two love birds some alone time I think. I'll go see how Casey is doing. Casey has his old unit running security here so you guys should be good, but call me if you need anything," Carina said as she got up.

"Thanks Carina I really appreciate it," Sarah said as she hugged her friend.

"No problem."

"Sarah I swear to God I never...,"

"Just go to sleep Chuck, we will talk about it in the morning. Move over," Sarah said as she began to get undressed.

Sarah got into bed and instantly wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry about working earlier Sarah," Chuck said.

"Sarah? Sarah," Chuck said.

He was answered by the soft sound of snoring as Sarah was finally able to sleep for the first time in a week.

After hearing the report from Corr, The President sat quietly as he processed everything. Unlike some former chief executives, President Mitchell was decisive man who thought primarily about the safety and security of this nation. He was a former naval officer and combat veteran, who had met Corr in the early 80's during their time stationed in the Middle East. He was a man Corr had respect for, because he never put his image above the job, not cared for the political ramifications of decisions that he knew were right for the country.

"So there is no indication that Secretary of Sate Wilson is involved?"

"No sir. I have interrogated Franklin several times and he had indicated that Wilson was simply a means to an end. Woodcomb would be in a position to ascend to the presidency once the scandal hit the news papers, but either way it doesn't look good," Corr replied.

"No it certainly doesn't. How does all of this fit together Ambrose," Mitchell asked.

"Garrison and Woodcomb have been connected for 30 years sir. Through Woodcomb's connections, Garrison was able to get access to Lassiter and then Franklin. Lassiter was in in the intersect project from the beginning and served with Daniel Shaw on a security council a few years back. Which is where we believe that Shaw turned Lassiter," Corr replied, as he showed him a picture of Lassiter, Shaw and his wife together in a compromising position.

"How did he turn him?"

"We believe that Shaw manipulated Lassiter to issued a kill order on his wife. Once that happened Lassiter was in Shaw's pocket."

"Where does Garrison come in?"

Corr explained Garrison's history to the president and told him how he set up The Ring as a way to transform the government based on his beliefs. Corr could see Mitchell's veins bulge in his neck as relayed all the information, and felt confidence that there was at least one politician that he could have faith in.

"This type of treasonous action requires an immediate response," Mitchell said angrily.

"What are my orders sir," Corr asked.

" Razor protocol," Mitchell replied.

"Are you sure about this sir?"

"Yes Admiral. The safety and security of this country and her people are my primary responsibility. I will not allow them to be compromised!"

"Sir as part of Razor protocol, it is my duty as the immediate senior subordinate in the room to ask you if you are of sound mind."

"I am."

"Thank you sir. I am also required to ask you to repeat the order," Corr replied.

"Understood Admiral. The order that was issued was the activation of Razor protocol," Mitchell said as he handed him a key.

"Understood sir. Activation order of Razor protocol has been received and understood by Admiral Ambrose Corr," Corr said for the record.

"Carry on Admiral," Mitchell said.

"Thank you sir," Corr said as he saluted.

The president returned the salute and the left the room. Corr took out his key and opened the briefcase, which revealed a smaller case that was also locked. He then took the key the president had given him and opened the next lock. Inside of the case was a small keypad with a red button. Corr put the case on the table and keyed in a specific sequence.

"God help us now," Corr said as he pushed the red button.

In the most top-secret facility in America is the most lethal killing team that the world has ever known. Unlike normal agents or military, they are trained to be anonymous in every way. No distinguishing features, no discernible differences in appearance or skill set, and there is no record of their existence. They are only used for termination missions and have no contact with anyone outside of their team members, in short they are sealed in a vacuum of war. Called upon to go anywhere at anytime and take out any enemy target, foreign or domestic, they were the nightmares that all evil men fear, bringing a reckoning upon them with deadly precision. They were truly America's "horsemen of the apocalypse", and they had just been activated.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Don't own nor make any $ from Chuck_

Senator Woodcomb finished his up his breakfast with Devon and his wife and then headed into his office. He was looking forward to heading back to California next week for his fundraiser and solidifying the plan for the primary and the next few months following it. He and Garrison rarely met face to face, so any time they had together was used strategically to plan future activities and accomplishments. With the intersect project completely disbanded the focus was now to begin to shift blame to Secretary of State Wilson, and to come up with a campaign strategy to take down President Mitchell.

Wilson, as Mitchell's Secretary of State, was closely aligned with the Presidents foreign policy, so they would have to attack him on his domestic agenda, and this was the genius of Garrison's plan. Woodcomb was the typical bleeding heart, which would be more out front during the campaign, because essentially they would be campaigning on Woodcombs domestic record. Once Wilson was president and the intersect scandal hit, Woodcomb would be portrayed as the person to trust and connected with the people, due to his featured campaigning during the election. He looked out the window as his car was driven by the White House, and smiled at the thought that soon enough he would be there.

Corr and Beckman waiting in his office for a briefing from the NSA analysts who were sifting through the data mined from Woodcombs computer, when a beeping light on his desk signaled a waiting message on the secure uplink. Beckman was already cleared for this level o security, so Corr opened his secure browser, and accessed the message.

 _Razor team rolling up now. Operational within the hour..out._

Rolling up meant that the team was somewhere in the air above the United States, and once Corr gave them their primary theater, they would be transported to that location. Razor's operational theater was global, and although domestic operations were rare, they still were authorized to be used in matters of national security. It was a sticky situation, because most domestic operations were handled by local and federal law enforcement, which was governed by the laws of the country and therefore allowed suspects certain rights. The primary goal of law enforcement entities was to protect the citizens and ultimately detain the suspects. Razor was not a law enforcement entity, it was a weapon used specifically to eradicate any threat to the country, and their mission was not to detain but to terminate.

"Razor is up," Corr said.

"Jesus that was fast, The President isn't fucking around is he," Beckman.

"No he is not."

The phone on his desk rang, temporarily breaking them out of their morbid thoughts.

"Corr," he said in the receiver.

"Sir we have the update for you," said the voice on the other end.

"Very well. Send them in."

The door immediately opened and his aid showed in 3 men who looked like they had just stepped come from a rave. They had tired eyes and ill-fitting clothes, which all appeared to be about two sizes too small.

"Time is of the essence gentleman so please tell us what you have," Corr said dismissing with any pleasantries.

"Sir we were able to piggyback onto Garrison's server using a new algorithm that we came up with that...,"

"That's very well, but just tell me what you have," Corr interrupted impatiently.

"Oh sorry sir, we cracked his mainframe and were able to link everyone who he was in contact with. From there we were able to outline his entire network," he said.

"That's good work gentlemen, I think..,"

"I'm sorry sir but there is more," the analyst interrupted.

"What?"

"Sir it's much worse then we thought."

Sarah laid in bed and watch Chuck sleep, constantly monitoring for any change of sound or movement from him that might signal stress. The last few weeks had been absolute hell, and even though they were still in danger, the site of his chest evenly rising and falling was a huge relief to her. She remembered back to that horrible night in Paris:

 _When she saw Chuck jump in front of the bullets meant for Casey and her, it was the worst moment of her life. The medics got there a half a heartbeat after Chuck stopped breathing, and though they revived him on the bridge, he crashed twice more on the way to the hospital ship. Still unsure of whom they could trust at that point, Casey had secretly arranged to have any injured team members taken to a hospital ship near Corsica if the worst happened, and thank god he did. She would always be eternally grateful for Casey and his Navy contacts, which were able to get him to the ship and stabilize him, after getting two pints of blood from Sarah._

 _Space is at a premium on a hospital ship, and unfortunately for Sarah, the doctors went to work on Chuck in full view of her. The first few hours were sheer torture for as she watched him hover between life and death, while the Navy doctors had his chest open like some kind of anatomy class teaching dummy. She counted at least 3 times when a nurse physically massaged Chuck's heart to keep him alive, until she felt her head start to spin and nearly fainted. Casey got her out of there and sat with her in the makeshift waiting room, which was located I the laundry room across the hall, because Sarah refused to go too far._

 _"How are you doing Walker," Casey asked._

 _Sarah remained quiet as the tears rolled down her face. Her eyes were in a constant state of precipitation it seemed to Casey, as he looked at his partner._

 _"Hang in there Sarah. He is a tough kid, he will pull through," Casey said as he tapped Sarah's leg for support._

 _"It's my fault," Sarah said softly._

 _"What?"_

 _"It's my fault. I never should of allowed him to go through with this damn plan! If we would of arrested Shaw from the beginning then...,"_

 _"Then we would have nothing."_

 _"Casey if he doesn't wake up then I have nothing," she sobbed._

 _"Sarah we couldn't have stopped him if we tried. Once he found out that you were in danger God himself couldn't stop Chuck, and you know that. Look now we have a starting point, once Shaw surfaces again we will get him and make him talk. Don't blame yourself."_

 _"It doesn't matter Casey! If he dies..,"_

 _"Walker calm down! You need to be strong, Chuck is going to be ok, we got to him in time," Casey said as he saw her go to pieces._

 _"I can't take this anymore I need to know what's going on."_

 _"Walker wait..," was as far as Casey got before the doctor came into the room._

 _"Doctor how is Chuck," Sarah asked._

 _"He is stable right now, but he has suffered some severe injuries."_

 _Sarah's heart dropped at the words and she instantly feared the worst._

 _"Oh God how bad," she said._

 _"The damage from the first two bullets was pretty traumatic. He was hit in the spleen which led to severe blood loss, unfortunately the damage was too great and we had to remove it."_

 _"Oh God! What does that mean?"_

 _"It means that he will have a weakened immune system and he will have to be on antibiotics most likely for the rest of his life, but it is manageable. What concerns me now though, is that we are on a ship that is filled with bacteria, so I need to quarantine him for at least 24 hours," the doctor said._

 _"That's not possible. I need to get him out of here a.s.a.p. His life is at stake," Sarah said._

 _"I understand, but we are in a secure vessel and.."_

 _"Nothing is secure," Sarah said as her eyes flashed with anger and she fixed him_

 _With a death stare._

 _"Walker.."_

 _"Back off Casey," Sarah said as she stared down the doctor._

 _"He is going with me tonight doctor," she said._

 _"The hell he is," the doctor replied._

 _"What did you say," she fumed as she grabbed the doctor by the collar._

 _"Walker get off him," Casey said as she pushed him against the wall._

 _"Agent Walker I don't think you understand just how severe this is, if you take this patient out of here tonight he will die. I will not allow you to do that. I will not allow you to kill him," the doctor holding his ground._

 _"How dare you! I would never hurt him! This man is my whole life," she sobbed as the tears came down her face._

 _"Then let me save him. Trust me agent Walker," the doctor said._

 _He suddenly saw a change in Sarah's expression, almost as if she had a grand realization._

 _"Oh god I'm so sorry doctor, please forgive me," she said as she broke down and crumbled in the doctor's arms._

 _He felt her give as the weight of everything came crashing down on._

 _"It's ok Sarah. I understand what you are going through," she said to her._

 _"I just don't know whom I can trust," she sobbed._

 _"Hey trust me. I will get him back together, just give me 24 hours," the doctor said._

 _"I will. I'm so sorry again doctor," Sarah said._

 _"It's ok Sarah, but I need to keep him isolated because of his weakened immune system. He is very susceptible to infection right now and I need to get him better before you can take him home. Now you are all dehydrated, drink this," he said as he handed her a cup._

 _Sarah obliged._

 _"Now I can't let you into the room with him, but I do have a room ready for you to rest in, it's right over here," he said as he led her to an empty stateroom._

 _"This is commander Lewis's room. She is the nurse on duty with Chuck tonight so you can rest in here," he said._

 _"No I can't, Chuuuck..," she slurred._

 _"Will be ready when you wake up," he said as he put her on the bed and turned off the lights._

 _Casey was in awe as he saw the doctor expertly diffuse a very pissed off Sarah Walker._

 _"That was amazing doctor," Casey said._

 _"Not really, I put a sedative in the water," he replied._

 _"You drugged her," he laughed._

 _"Sure, I suddenly had a very strange feeling," he said._

 _"What was that," Casey asked._

 _"Have you ever been bear hunting," the doctor asked him._

 _"A long time ago. Why?"_

 _"They say the most dangerous place in the world to be is between a momma grizzly and her cub."_

 _"Yeah so?_

 _"I suddenly found myself in that situation Major," the doctor replied._

 _24 hours later chuck had improved to the point where he could be transferred to the secure facility that Casey had set up for them. They took a chopper from the boat to an old CIA airstrip that was leased to the French military, where an old refit 737 was ready to take them back to the US. Casey had used his old contacts to set everything up, and Sarah was more then impressed when she saw a modified surgical suite, as well as a doctor and nurse, already on board the plane._

 _They gently strapped Chuck down in the bed, and did a cursory examination of his vitals, as Sarah sat don next to him._

 _"How is he doing," the pilot said as she walked up to the doctors._

 _"Everything is stable. He is safe to transport, I just want to administer a sedative before take off," the doctor said._

 _"Doctor is that necessary? Chuck has not woken up yet from before," Sarah said concerned._

 _"Yes it is perfectly fine, based on his chart he is not in a comma. He is just fighting an infection, which is exhausting him. Keeping him sedated will allow you to sleep as well Agent..,"_

 _"I don't want to sleep. I want him to wake up," Sarah said._

 _"Well he will, but if he wakes up during the flight he might panic or...,"_

 _"He won't panic doctor, I won't let him. Just please, I need him to wake up soon. I need to hear his voice" Sarah said as tears returned to her eyes._

 _"Doctor is there any medical reason that he needs to be sedated," the pilot asked._

 _"Well physically no..,"_

 _"Then don't sedate him."_

 _"But..,"_

 _" I trust that if any medical emergency arise you will be ready to act. That is what I am paying you for," pilot said as she fixed him with a glare._

 _"Yes ma'am," the doctor replied._

 _"Thank you," Sarah said._

 _"No problem. Please call me Gertrude," the said as she extended her hand._

 _"I'm Sarah," she replied and shook her hand._

 _"Well Sarah I will get you guys home."_

 _"Thank you so much," Sarah replied._

 _"My pleasure, us girls new to stick together."_

 _"Yes we do."_

 _"And always take care of our men," she said as she slyly looked at Casey and winked at Sarah._

 _"Ah...yeah."_

 _She watched as Casey greeted the pilot warmly, and then strapped in next to her for take off._

 _"Who's your friend," Sarah said as Casey sat beside her._

 _"Need to know Walker," Casey said._

 _She tried hard to stifle a laugh as she saw Casey's face turn a light shade of red._

"How many," President Mitchell asked incredulously.

Once they learned the full scope of Garrisons network, Corr and Beckman requested an emergency videoconference to brief the president on their findings.

"Sir we now believe that Garrison has been able to penetrate 3 other governments in addition to our own. The positions are mostly senior level military and political positions in the French, Canadian, and German government," Corr said.

"Is there any indication that the Executive offices have been compromised?"

"No sir. It's possible that Garrison is waiting to see how the experiment works with out country first," Beckman replied.

They could see the President rub his temples through the monitor, and saw his neck almost increase in size as his anger at the situation took hold.

"This situation needs to be resolved now. General Beckman I understand that Woodcomb's son helped in the investigation?"

"Yes sir. He is married to the intersect's...I'm sorry, former intersect's sister. They have a child together and have a fear that the Senator will harm the baby to get to the intersect."

"That son of a bitch, I'm sure he would. General I want you to secure that family immediately. Keep them safe and do it now," the President said.

"Yes sir," Beckman said as she saluted and left the room.

"Admiral I am getting very tired of Mr. Garrison trying to destroy our country."

"I am in full agreement sir," Corr replied.

"Once we get confirmation that Beckman has the Woodcomb family safe, Razor has a green light. I will then notify the Presidents of France, German and Canada of the situation with their governments. "

"Yes sir."

"Once Garrison is taken care of I want Razor mobile to both Canada and Europe, for any ancillary clean up."

"Yes sir, and Woodcomb?"

"I'll take care of him."

"Yes sir. Oh what about Franklin," Corr asked.

"Get everything you can out of him and then retire him Ambrose."

"Yes sir," Corr said as he saluted.

The President returned the salute and closed the connection.

"Here we go," Corr said.

Sarah saw him stir as he began to wake up, and she quickly pretended to be asleep

"Sarah."

"What?"

"You are weirding me out here," Chuck said.

"Why."

"I know you were watching me," he said.

"No I wasn't," she replied.

"Your hair is combed," he laughed.

"So?"

"Your hair never looks that good when you just wake up."

"What!"

"Whoa! I just meant that you toss and turn so much at night that your hair is a little bit frizzy in the mornings."

"Frizzy! My hair is Frizzy!"

"No what I mean is.."

"You should see your face," Sarah said as she burst out laughing.

"Oh really funny! Weren't you the one who said no stress," Chuck replied.

"Listen the amount of stress you put me through these last few weeks, I figure you are due," she said as she kissed him.

"I suppose," he replied between kisses.

"Besides you have two pints of my blood in you. You know what that means," she said as her hands made their way south.

"No what does that mean," he replied as his hands began to invade under her shirt.

"You belong to me forever now," she said as he hand slipped inside his shorts.

"That works for me," he said between kisses.

"Looking good Walker."

"Jesus Carina! Don't you knock," Sarah said as she pushed her shirt down.

"Sorry to interrupt your morning rehab, but we have a situation," Carina said.

"What's wrong," Chuck asked.

"Beckman called, it's bigger then we thought."


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: I don't own nor make any $ from Chuck_

Casey had joined Carina in the hospital room with, and although he had a few new bandages on his arm, looked pretty damn good for being shot less then 24 hours ago. He had brought with him a videoconferencing board that had a scrambler on it, thus allowing them to still remain hidden. Sarah was a bit zealous in her protection of Chuck, but Casey couldn't blame her at this point, as every second a new threat seemed to emerge.

"The President would like to move you to a secure location until this is all over," Beckman said through a videoconference screen.

Sarah had tactical command of Chuck's security detail and as such she was the only one who allowed people access to him. Beckman herself didn't even know his location, as Sarah instructed Casey to tell her only that he was alive.

"The location he is in now is secure," Sarah replied flatly.

"Agent Walker I understand that but he can be protected by a larger team...,"

"The team protecting him now is the team I want general. That is final," Sarah said.

"Agent Walker...,"

"General my position and tactical command on this this matter supersede your rank. In terms of Agent Bartowski's protection I will not be compromised."

If Beckman wasn't so angry she would of smiled at Sarah's choice of words, but she was pissed and about to blow her top.

"Now you listen Agent Walker...," was as far as she got before Sarah disconnected screen.

"Sarah! What the hell? The general," Chuck panicked.

"Not happening," Sarah replied.

"Sarah maybe Beckman is right? We could use more help," Carina said.

"I agree with Carina," Chuck echoed.

"Ohhh," Casey said lowly as he saw the whites around Sarah's eyes expand and focus on Chuck.

"Will the both of you excuse us for a second," Sarah said to Carina and Casey without turning to address them.

"Let's go," Casey said.

"No argument here. Sorry Chuck," Carina said as she hurriedly followed Casey.

Unnoticed by anyone was a small flick as the Videocon flicked back to life, revealing the face of the President of the United States.

He was about to speak when Sarah erupted.

"Are you out of your frickin mind," Sarah spat angrily.

"Sarah it's the President of the United States," Chuck said still unaware that were visible.

"I don't care if it's Ming the frikin Merciless, you are not going! If he wants to speak to you he can damn well do it over the Videocon!"

"Actually Ming was...," Chuck began.

"Because that's really what's most important right now Chuck," she replied shutting him down.

"Sarah look I understand how you feel.."

"Do you? Tell me Chuck what was it like? What was it like for me when that son of a bitch shot you on the bridge? Or how did I feel when you died 5 times in front of me? Tell me how I felt Chuck," Sarah demanded with tears in her eyes.

"Sarah I...,"

"Oh God I'm sorry Chuck," Sarah said as she embraced him.

"No it's okay it's my fault. You are right," Chuck said as he tried to soothe her.

"It was all too much Chuck...please don't go back out there until it's over," Sarah said very softly.

"I promise Sarah I won't. Don't worry. I love you," he said as he kissed her.

"Don't worry agent Walker, I have no intention of exposing Agent Bartowski to any danger. You will have final say on all of his security arrangements," the president said.

"Mr. President! I'm sorry sir," Sarah said as she bolted upright and temporary left Chuck flailing like an upside down turtle.

"Oh Chuck," Sarah said as she helped Chuck to his feet.

"Please stay down Agent Bartowski, and no apologies necessary, it was my intrusion. My apologies to you for the interruption, but I just wanted the both of you to know personally how very thankful I am for the service you have both done for your country."

"Thank you sir," they said in unison.

"I just wanted to tell you both that operations are underway that will eliminate the threat to you as well as our country. I also wanted to tell Agent Bartowski that your sister and her family are safe, I give you my personal guarantee that they will remain so."

"Thank you sir," Chuck said.

"No thank you Chuck. You don't mind if I call you Chuck do you?"

"No sir," he replied.

"Well Chuck I would like to have the both of you as my guests here when you are feeling a little bit better."

"Thank you sir, we would like that," Sarah answered for them both.

"Very good. Now the both of you just hunker down for a bit and I will personally contact you when it's safe for Chuck to rejoin the living."

"Thank you Mr. President," Sarah said.

"No problem, as you were," he said as he signed off.

The President turned to see a grinning Corr behind him.

"Something funny Ambrose?"

"Nothing sir. Just the _Ming the Merciless_ comment," Corr smiled.

"Ha not to worry Admiral. By the time this night is out we are going to make Ming the Merciless look like a pussy. I will meet you in the ready room."

"Yes sir," Corr said as he saluted and headed off.

The President had just finished his briefing with the leaders of Germany Canada and France, and was meeting with his national security advisors in their next move, before going to ready room to join Corr. Canada and France both requested assistance with the imbedded ring members in their respective governments, and two Razor teams were already on site in those countries. After realizing the gravity of the situation, the President was given special operational activity within both countries borders and Razor was immediately deployed. The Germans were a bit better prepared to mobilized their defenses, and immediately locked down the country and declared a terrorist alert, which enabled them time to ferret out the traitors.

Corr sat with a headset on coordinating from the ready room and could view the action in real-time as the satellite images offered crystal clear perspective on the operation. He wanted to make sure that Garrison was located and isolated before he could send any word to his ring network, and sent Razor team 3, the best operators on the planet, to handle the mission.

"What is our situation," the President said as he came down the steps and sat next to Corr.

"Razor 3 is operational and satellite is just coming online," Corr said as a large screen in front of them faded into the green tinge of night vision.

"Very good," the President said as little green images sprung up on the screen.

Ancillary chatter was heard throughout the room as the team communicated their movements with deft precision. The team had just surrounded Garrison's luxurious mansion and were conducting the initial threat assessment of physical security. SOP for an assault like this would be engage electronic surveillance/security first, and then isolate physical security; but as they were operating in a domestic capacity, any electronic security was already hacked by NSA engineers. All communications were monitored and would be interrupted before any alert signal could be given out. On foreign soil this was usually done by a small electromagnetic pinch, which would fry all circuitry in a designated area, it also usually alerted well trained security forces that something was wrong and caused the operators to face a semi-alerted security force, this time however, their opponents were blissfully unaware.

"Leader this is 2. I'm in position. I have eyes on 2 hostiles in my immediate vicinity," suddenly came through the chatter.

"Roger. Hold position based on threat assessment," the leader replied.

"Roger."

Similar messages broke through as the operators got into position to begin their assault, without alerting any of the guarding force.

"Leader this is 6. I have eyes on the target," came a voice.

"Roger. Location and activity?"

"3rd floor bedroom. Preparing for bed."

"Roger."

Night was always the worst time. That was the time the monster came, and Morhan Kwan was preparing for the Devils nightly visit, as she heard him outside the bedroom door and clutched the rosary beads tightly in her hand. A child of North Korea, she was orphaned at an early age when her parents killed by the famine, and sent to work in the factories before the age of 12. She was eventually rescued by a charitable organization set up through the Garrison foundation, which offered financial relief in exchange for "unfavorable" workers. As a child she was deemed unfavorable by not being able to support herself and would be viewed as a burden on the country, so she was essentially "sold" to this charity organization and moved to a camp in the south.

It was at this camp where she finally found her smile and laughter as she played with other children her age and was given access to education and medicine. She found her happiness again and finally her hope, as she saw many of her friends be adopted into wonderful families in the south and west. She dreamed of starting a new life full of hope and promise, and right when she was at her most vulnerable and idealistic, the devil found her. She could not believe her luck when her benefactor, Mr. Garrison himself, personally wanted to adopt her. At 15, She was older then most girls at the shelter, and felt like she was in a dream when he whisked her away to her new home, filled with anything she could ever want. Sadly her dream quickly turned into a nightmare, and by the end of the first week, she was forced to do things only the devil would require. Her life was nothing more then a source of pleasure for this beast, and as she heard the doorknob turn, she tried to suppress the tears that filled her eyes.

"Razor team in position," the team leader called.

"You have a go," Corr keyed his headset.

"Roger. Razor team go," the leader said.

A chorus of the phrase "tango down" was heard as the team dismantled Garrison's security force, leaving him completely unprotected.

"6 this is leader. Security force neutralized, you are clear."

"Roger."

Morhan sobbed silently as the door slightly opened and the evil face of her tormentor slowly filled the space for his nightly ration. She prayed for a way out of this hell, but nothing ever changed; and just when she thought she would be forced to endure his inhuman treatment once more, something happened. Suddenly she saw a shadow materialize from the darkness as if it were sitting beside her and listening to her prayer, it filled the space between her and the devil, and silently waited for him to come.

"Where is my girl," Garrison said as he peered into the darkened room.

"I want my huuu..." was heard as the remaining air was forced out of Garrisons collapsed lung, as the knife swiftly went about creating its fatal wound.

The man was dead in seconds, and as 6 grabbed Garrison under the arms, he couldn't help but look back at the frightened child on the bed. He put his finger up tongue mouth in a schussing motion and then quickly flashed her the crucifix under his black uniform. He saw her nod slightly then carried Garrison's body out with him.

"Target is down . Confirmed," came the call over the radio.

"Very good. Secure the area and evac," Corr said into his headset.

"Yes sir," came the reply.

"Razor team 1 and 2 have a go," The President said as he watched the cleanup on the screen.

"Yes sir," Corr replied as he relayed the order.

Identical scenes materialized and played out all over Northern France and Canada as Razor annihilated the Ring network. That evening, businessmen, politicians and military leaders were symptomatically wiped out in the largest commando raid since WWII, but not one trace of it found its way into the news. The President marveled at the efficiency of the machine; in a total of 2 hours 3 different Razor teams had managed to destroy a network that took over 50 painstaking years to build. Razor 2 was now on its way to assist the Germans with their house cleaning, while 3 and 1 were back on their way back to base.

"Sir we have had our analysts confirm that the ring has been eradicated in Canada and France," an aid announce to Corr.

"Very well. What about here?"

"All domestic leads that have been traced from Senator Woodcombs and Garrisons respective computers, have been designated target by Razor 3 and have been eliminated."

"Very well done Admiral. I think it's time I have Senator Woodcomb over," the President said.

"Yes sir," Corr replied.

Angel Santos was known by many different names to many different people. Santos to his teammates and 6 in the field, but to Morhan, he would always be Angel.


End file.
